OT - What's your Gas and Electric Bill

GATABITES

This has been a Very "Brutally" Cold winter season. I received my bill for last month and almost drove off the HWY. My bill doubled in comparison to what we normally pay. 

I just thought about it, I have been cooking maybe 2-3 times/week outside on the egg. 

I have a couple of questions:

• Do you guys think going in and out of the house in below 32 degree temps played a part in my bill increase? 
  
• Have you all experienced an influx in your gas/electric bills due to cooking on the Egg? 
  

michigan_jason

My gas bill was $225, and my electric was $350. I have a 1800 sq ft ranch and live in the bitter cold MI. Can't wait for 40-50 degree weather next week. As far as in and out from the kitchen door wall to the deck, absolutely, half the time, I leave the door wall open for 10-30 seconds while going in and out. The things we will do to egg.

berndcrisp

Yes and yes.

buzd504

Thi

GATABITES said:

 I received my bill for last month and almost drove off the HWY.

You probably shouldn't open your mail while you're driving.

fishlessman

i heat the house with coal, roughly 5 dollars a day or 150 a month, i heat the basement with propane, 400 per month to hold temps at 42 degrees f down there. electricity ranges between 30 and 40 bucks a month  all year. all my bills are lower this year even though its colder out here in newengland, windy winter days cost me alot more and it just hasnt been that windy this year

JohnInCarolina

I've addressed these kinds of concerns by moving my Egg inside.  Sure, the entire house smells like smoke and it's a little hard to see, but that just contributes to the sense of adventure.  

stlcharcoal

Average $197 month.....all electric.  Geothermal rocks!

BREWnQ

Electric ~$100 Gas ~$50.  Wow told the wife to quit using the dryer every morning because the bills were "so high".......I guess I'll quit complaining.

GATABITES

buzd504 said: Thi
GATABITES said:  I received my bill for last month and almost drove off the HWY.


You probably shouldn't open your mail while you're driving.


@buzd504 - LOL - it was actually in an email. My bill is 606.87 for 33 days. WTF: I could purchase another egg for that amount. I called BGE and they said they have been getting a lot of calls from customers regarding their energy bills increases. She said its mostly due to the inclement weather this season. 

hondabbq

average $200 a month for 2800 sq ft. The ICF foundation pays off.

BREWnQ

I'm probably missing something really obvious here but wouldn't you pay the same amount to cook regardless of weather? 

GATABITES

hondabbq said:

average $200 a month for 2800 sq ft. The ICF foundation pays off.

We normally average 200-225/month. I was blown away by this bill. 

GATABITES

BREWnQ said:

I'm probably missing something really obvious here but wouldn't you pay the same amount to cook regardless of weather? 

My question was: since i have continued to use the egg during the winter months, going in/out letting cold air into the house, would this have contributed to my $606 gas and electric bill.... 

Chubbs

Average $250 for electric and gas. Spikes to $350-$400 in winter for gas heat

gerhardk

Propane from end of November to end of January was $1600, a bit higher than normal due to high winds.  We live in the middle of nowhere surrounded by empty fields so windy days make the furnace work a bit harder, house is also a 120 years old so it loses heat even at the best of times.

Gerhard

BREWnQ

Ah I see.  Sorry when it comes to cold weather I'm totally clueless. I could see how going in and out would drop your homes temp crazy though that it might double. 

Eggcelsior

I can tell you one thing, BGE SUCKS!(Baltimore Gas and Electric). When I lived in Columbia I had some outrageous bills from one year to the next with similar temps. No explanation from them. It was a tripling similar to yours. I call BS. 

I have gas and electric currently and my January bill(polar vortex weather) was 58.31 for electric and 120.86 for gas(I have gas heat) In three years, I have never had a bill higher than 197 for either. We run our A/C at 75 and 62-65 in the winter, utilizing a gas fireplace in our family room and bedroom for heat when it's really cold. For the last month I've kept it at 70 in the house due to the pipe burst I had. I've also been running an electric heater in the bathroom nearly continuously to keep the pipe from freezing again(It froze a second time when it was 29 outside after the initial freeze when it was near 0F).

BYS1981

My bill was $280 for December and $170 for January. My wife and I kept the house at about 70 in December and 67 in January. This is with my 25% employee discount.

You could have your home energy audited to make it more efficient by an HVAC contractor, and some utilities will do energy cost inquiries. Sure, gas bills stereotypically go up due to usage in the winter, but sometimes they also go up because of gas leaks, faulty appliances, etc.

Eggcelsior

I'm in a 3000 sqft townhome, by the way.

fishlessman

before i bought the coal stove 13 years back, i would average about 500 gallons propane per winter month and it was 97 cents a gallon or 485 per month.  fast forward to today at 4.18 dollars a gallon and that monthly bill would be 2090.00 per month and people think im crazy burning coal in the living room. this is for a 1000 square foot house built in the forties 

Eggcelsior

fishlessman said:

before i bought the coal stove 13 years back, i would average about 500 gallons propane per winter month and it was 97 cents a gallon or 485 per month.  fast forward to today at 4.18 dollars a gallon and that monthly bill would be 2090.00 per month and people think im crazy burning coal in the living room. this is for a 1000 square foot house built in the forties 

As long as you don't roll coal. I hate those idiots that waste perfectly good diesel.

Firemanyz

@gatabites you have lost @brewnq he is trying to figure out why you called BGE (big green egg) about your gas bill. Living in maryland I know you were talking about BGE ( Baltimore gas and electric). Since there is no gas on the eastern shore I just have heat pumps and a pellet stove. My heat pumps struggle to keep up, thank goodness for the pellet stove. So I really can't complain too much about costs this year as they have been inline with the last few. But what I can complain about is all the dust my pellet stove has been creating this year. It has never been this bad in the six years I have had it. That may be a whole different topic I need to post. Good luck

galen

Go ahead, throw rocks. coal, whatever.  All electric home.  No natural gas nor propane.

Monthly electric bill is $9.87

Doors open now and it does not make any difference in the bill, open or closed.

Of course we had Solar Panels installed two years ago and no snow to remove

Cost of living generally is higher so maybe things equal out.

Mahalo, from the Sandwich Islands.

\

stlcharcoal

We have a high efficiency wood stove insert in our fireplace.  For the last four years I have been using it non-stop over the winter......getting up over night to feed the fire, or put a huge trunk in it before going to bed.

This year I didn't have time to cut any firewood, didn't want to pay for it, and figured if the power went out I would just run it on charcoal if I had to.  Plus we have a 18 month old that is into everything--didn't want him getting burned.

In the end, with the record cold this winter, we used an extra 1500 kWh each month in Jan & Feb.  So I spent an extra $200--but I have to figure at least half of that was the cold.

I racked my brain trying to figure out how all that work with the firewood only saved me about $100 a year, then it dawned on me.......water heater.

When the geothermal is running, hot water is "free" from the desuperheater.  So, last year when the compressors and pumps were barely running because of the fireplace, my 80-gal water heater was sucking up power.  Now the compressors and pumps are running constantly, but the elements in the tank are not.

Either way, geothermal is awesome.  Spend the money if you can, then reap the savings for the rest of your life.  Just make sure you get someone that knows what they are doing.  We have a closed loop system with two 300ft vertical loops.

GATABITES

Eggcelsior said: I can tell you one thing, BGE SUCKS!(Baltimore Gas and Electric). When I lived in Columbia I had some outrageous bills from one year to the next with similar temps. No explanation from them. It was a tripling similar to yours. I call BS. 
I have gas and electric currently and my January bill(polar vortex weather) was 58.31 for electric and 120.86 for gas(I have gas heat) In three years, I have never had a bill higher than 197 for either. We run our A/C at 75 and 62-65 in the winter, utilizing a gas fireplace in our family room and bedroom for heat when it's really cold. For the last month I've kept it at 70 in the house due to the pipe burst I had. I've also been running an electric heater in the bathroom nearly continuously to keep the pipe from freezing again(It froze a second time when it was 29 outside after the initial freeze when it was near 0F).
Yeah man, my house is 2640sqft not including the finished basement. I am going nuts trying to find a solution to this issue. We have an 11 month old so we keep the temp around 74 in the winter. We do have a wood fireplace but we havent used it yet. The fireplace has never been used and the house is 20 years old. The previous owners just liked having a mantle. I called to get a quote for a chimney inspection, $169. Damn, i cant catch a break here. 

I am going to get an energy audit in the near future. My sons birthday is in 2 weeks, so I have to prioritize. 

GATABITES

stlcharcoal said:

We have a high efficiency wood stove insert in our fireplace.  For the last four years I have been using it non-stop over the winter......getting up over night to feed the fire, or put a huge trunk in it before going to bed.

This year I didn't have time to cut any firewood, didn't want to pay for it, and figured if the power went out I would just run it on charcoal if I had to.  Plus we have a 18 month old that is into everything--didn't want him getting burned.

In the end, with the record cold this winter, we used an extra 1500 kWh each month in Jan & Feb.  So I spent an extra $200--but I have to figure at least half of that was the cold.

I racked my brain trying to figure out how all that work with the firewood only saved me about $100 a year, then it dawned on me.......water heater.

When the geothermal is running, hot water is "free" from the desuperheater.  So, last year when the compressors and pumps were barely running because of the fireplace, my 80-gal water heater was sucking up power.  Now the compressors and pumps are running constantly, but the elements in the tank are not.

Either way, geothermal is awesome.  Spend the money if you can, then reap the savings for the rest of your life.  Just make sure you get someone that knows what they are doing.  We have a closed loop system with two 300ft vertical loops.

I did get a quote for a regency i2400 wood insert - i think thats what its called. For the unit, i was quoted $4200 w/ a $5000 installation fee. Whew, i have to do more research so that I can be more intelligent when speaking to individuals trying to make a few coins. 

Terrebandit

I complain about these bills during the summer.

GATABITES

Terrebandit said:

I complain about these bills during the summer.

During the summer we average about 250. 

td66snrf

I spent $915 for gas and $630 for electricity over the last 12 months.

Little Steven

You guys have no freakin idea! Try 1200 before we went riotous on lights being on and drained the hot tub. Down to 500 now. Heat is gas boiler with infloor and air handler.

BYS1981

Dude, 74 ambient temperature is why your bill is so high. Try putting it down to 70.