How much is your electricity bill already?

[Auntbeez]

PG&E
1500SF house, 5 tanks, 2 freezers, and an other half that can't keep the dang doors closed.
$210 last month. $301 this month. The difference.... running the AC.
We just finished adding a whole house fan that should help, but have yet to take advantage of it with the 100+ temps the last couple weeks.

 

[Bamm Bamm]

around $200/,month for a 1133sq ft 2 bedroom apt...

it was about $60/month before i set up the tanks and had to start running the a/c all the time..

 

[tfp]

this year hasn't been to bad...we are averaging about $280 for electric (SMUD). house stays in the 77-79 range, tank stays 79-81 (no chiller) and we have a small 1000gal koi pond and an extra fridge in the garage (gets very hot in there!).

however, when the forecast is over 100, i either keep the tank lights off or cycle them individually.

i'd HIGHLY recommend a whole house fan to maximize that delta breeze though .

 

[KMP]

75 duckies - attributed to my southern boy inspired air conditioning system - no doubt!

 

[brianbigoats]

mine is around $250 but that includes garbage, water and sewer. but we keep the house @ 82
and lodi cools of alot quicker than the rest of the valley

 

[DrDNA]

I have been really thinking about the whole house fan too. We know a couple people who have them, and they really do seem to cool your house fast if its cool outside, much faster than just opening the windows.

does anyone know who in the area installs them? I called Sierra Pacific, but they didn't know of anyone.

 

[bored4long]

House fan is an easy DIY. You might need to have a circuit pulled for it, but putting one in is easy. I've installed my mothers.

 

[HMG-Reefer]

My MID bill was $270, 2 tanks 2000sqft two story and keeping AC at 79'

PG&E is a rip off. We used to pay $550 to $600 in the summer.

 

[mdt178]

Last month it was $730 for a 2000 sq. ft house, by far the highest ever. I know it's not the tank because PGE bill from last Nov was only $140. We did have some relatives moved in recently, so the house now has 2 plasma TVs, 3 computers, 2 fridges,...and AC running 24/7.

 

[casalt]

I guess I shouldn't complain about $105.00 for a month with the AC on then. I run 220v tools alot also. SMUD for elec. and PGE for gas. PGE in winter is like 30. New AC pump and new roof and a 110v powered attic vent. House thermostat at 77. When it hits around 80 outside I open up the windows for the night. Gonna get one of these soon also

http://www.airscapefans.com/whole-house-fans/airscape10.php

 

[H20Sidhe]

$650 a month. 1400 sf single story house. 6 people. AC kept at 78 degrees. Until last Saturday, one 90 gallon reef tank w 6 x 54 w T5s, no chiller, runs 78-80. 2 fw tanks, one w 2x54 w T5s, and a hot tub. Definitely interested in more details about a whole house fan! And/or a better style of ac.

 

[Backinthegame]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15436478#post15436478 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by wpnorton
$670 4 br 2000ft house. New high efficiency windows, dual zone Air Conditioning and new roof.

Whoa! I've got 2983 Sqft and my bill was $340ish. This with having all 5 kids home for the summer with the ambient temp for both zones maintained at 75 degrees. It wouldnt take long to see a ROI on a Solar System for us, but I just can't justify the out of pocket cost in this economy. Whenever possible, we take advantage of the Delta breeze that seems to blow quite strongly through Elk Grove

 

[Reefugee]

One of my friends used Fan Man in Sacramento to install his whole house fan. According to my friend, they did a really nice job. http://www.fanman.com/

BTW - I agree with Mark. In most cases, installing a whole house fan is easy.

I have a whole house fan, and I love it. We rarely use our air conditioner unless it's really hot (high 90's or hotter).

 

[Reefugee]

BTW - installing a turbine vent is also very well worth the investment. A turbine vent is cheap and easy to install. If you don't want to do the installation, a lot of places will do it for pretty cheap. I have two turbine vents over the main house and one over the garage. They have made a HUGE difference during the day.

 

[Bamm Bamm]

forgot to mention my parents bill although it's in the east bay area with our 10k pond and a 3500sq ft house is around $700+/month years ago when I had a reeftank there it was around $1k---thats PG&E though not smud

 

[Doahh]

We have a whole house fan installed by Fanman. Its a great invention

 

[Jacob D]

Around $200 give or take depending on the time of year. That's electric and gas.

1550 sqft home
360g reef tank
55g QT
12g nano... which is now gone so hopefully a little less in the coming months

 

[Auntbeez]

I just installed the fan last month so have not seen the difference in PG&E yet.

As far as installing the fan... I did it... and surprisingly, it was fairly easy (directions included) The electrical part I had a few questions on and after asking around felt comfortable with doing it myself too. I was going to go with Fanman, but ended up going with DIY because of the cost difference.

I also installed 2 turbines on the roof... The ones like Minh posted. They were pretty easy.

 

[KarenLM]

My bill is $123.00. I have 3 tanks 1900 sq ft two story house surrounded with big trees. The AC is set at 78, I have a chiller on my 125. Wow you need two jobs for those crazy bills.