Heating Costs

[Brynhilde]

I hope this is the right area of the forum to post this - for those of you who pay for heat, how much approximately do you pay per month, two months, etc,.? Also what are some ways you try to save $$$ on heating costs.


We moved into a house earlier in 2012, got our first heating bill for $290 or so in November. I got another heating bill on Xmas eve from my landlord for $891. It seems a bit extreme and we try to save on everything. We took a lot of measures to ensure that excess extra heat doesn't get out but we are at a loss for how the bill is this high. We share with two students who live in the basement.

Thanks in advance for any tips, comments, etc, that are posted.

[matrix82]

Two bedroom apartment, costs around per month $100-150 now in winter, we do not have a washer/dryer.

[Zonny]

A big factor is what kind of heat you have, where you live and how cold it is. I understand electric heat is quite costly. We have an oil furnace, and our water is heated with it too. Filling the tank up costs over $600 here in NS, but fortunately it was fairly mild until recently. We probably do three or four fills a year, most of them in the winter (we use a bit outside of winter to heat the water).

[lizzie bargain]

891 sounds way out of line to me-were there some back charges from previous months or are the downstairs tenants leaving the windows open. I would speak to the landlord and the heating company about the heating price history of this house. I would consider moving ASAP.

[i_forget]

I have a house that is about 100 yrs old. 2 story, 3 bedroom, partially finished basement. There are lots of heat leaks all over. The only thing I have going for me is newer windows and a high efficiency furnace.

i keep my thermostat at 24, and my gas bill is $70 a month all year, and come August and September they owe me.

your bill is rediculous. My neighbour who has baseboard heat and old windows never had a monthly heating bill over $300. I would say There is a problem somewhere.

[GoStumpy]

I agree that is upsurd... I pay ~$70/mo for a mobile home with little insulation... one year we cut off the gas and used purely electric heat... the electric bill was ~$250... so any more than that is rediculous!

In short, I pay ~$70/mo on an equal payment plan. When I wasn't, it was ~$25 in summer and ~$150 in winter.

[linnyeg]

Were on equal billing with a gas furnace and its only $90/month for my 1400 sq. ft. raised bungalow kept at 20 degrees. There's definitely a problem somewhere for you!

[alicia]

I put away $175/month to fill my oil tank several times over the year. Our place is a 40 year old end unit townhouse with rather poor insulation, and we keep it under that. You need to talk to someone about that.

[LCF204]

My gas bill was $170 and electricity was $55 for December. I live in a 1700 sq ft two-story house, which has both water heat radiators and electric baseboard heaters...

[maribel]

I had to do a double take there, I thought it said $89, not $891 ... if that's the case, I would be asking to physically SEE the original bills. Is it electric heat? gas? oil? Is water usage included with the hydro? (ours is, and when we use too much, the bills goes climbing) a dripping tap, running toilet or outside leak could make the bill nuts if water usage is being added. and it might be in the other "unit". I'd have an absolute fit if I was presented with a bill like that. Before we bought our house we even asked to see the utility bills on the property so we knew what we were getting in to. Did the landlord seem shocked at the total too? Seeing the bill might give you a better idea of what's running up the costs.

sorry about all the questions...

For our whole house, gas furnace, gas water heater, gas fireplace, we are budget billed gas at $60 a month, and our hyrdo+water generally comes in at about $200 a month...

[sweet sparrow]

DH used to live with a roommate who smoked. There was a heat vent just inside the main door and he would stand in the doorway in the dead of winter and smoke with the door wide open, and the heat blasting. His heating bill was actually less than what you paid, but not by much.

Are there smokers in the house? Rooms/areas that are strangely cold while other areas are warm? Energy saving tips won't help unless you find your main source of energy leakage.

[gourmetsue]

Holy crap! I'd have a bird. We are in a 2 storey, 2400sf house and are on equal billing. We pay $116 a month (tax in) and we have a 24 year old furnace and run our gas fireplace about 8 hours a day. I would absolutely be asking to see the bills. It sounds like you are being fleeced to me.

[Abby5]

We replaced our furnace about 3 years ago. We went from pays $230 to $45 a month ( not equal billing only from nov-April ) I am sure the cost for the furnace was made up the first year!

[Natalka]

I hope this is the right area of the forum to post this - for those of you who pay for heat, how much approximately do you pay per month, two months, etc,.? Also what are some ways you try to save $$$ on heating costs.


We moved into a house earlier in 2012, got our first heating bill for $290 or so in November. I got another heating bill on Xmas eve from my landlord for $891. It seems a bit extreme and we try to save on everything. We took a lot of measures to ensure that excess extra heat doesn't get out but we are at a loss for how the bill is this high. We share with two students who live in the basement.

Thanks in advance for any tips, comments, etc, that are posted.

You absolutely must ask the landlord to see the bill - that's ridiculous!

We are in an old duplex - our side is the size of a fairly big house, two floors, bad insulation, etc.
We have gas heat, and our equalized payment is $73 for this next year (Aug. is our settle up month, and we usually get a month's credit). For the past few years, we were just around $90.
Heat is kept in the house around 20 and a bit above for the winter, because it gets cold here on the prairies!

[momof5boys]

We have a 45-50 year old furnace (no kidding) and our gas bill (this includes hot water) for the 2012 year was $930.61 (six bedroom home). This averages out to $77.55 per month.

You really need to see proof that the amount you were given was indeed correct.