Heating Bills
 

Mine was 2.5 times higher than normal. I shouldn't complain, at least I am warm. I just had to take a big gulp when I opened the bill.

This has been an extraordinarily cold winter. We prebuy our oil and last year we had credit left at the end of the season. We bought about the same amount and found out we have already reached the end our prebuy. So now we will have to pay for the oil every time. That is NOT in our budget and I don't know how we are going to manage it. Bummer.

Agreed. It's been just awful here in WI. I feel fortunate that we can afford it this year anyway as my husband is still working. I feel sorry for those on fixed incomes having to deal with the increased cost. Hard to budget with the unknown

boy you're not kidding. ,my hubby always say he's cold. I keep telling him to put his blanket on his legs. or wear more clothing. I finally got him to put an undershirt on. layering helps! I am downstairs a lot and wear a jacket and if I sit in front of the t.v., I \turn on the small space heater. it's cold down here!

ours was high too but we have had a cold winter and like you say we were warm!!!

This has been an usually cold winter for most of the country. We have a few normal days and nights, then bam cold again for a few days. The ups and downs just seem to wear on a body.
I'm not looking forward to hot and humid summer either. I tell my Husband we are just complainers.

I bought a portable oil filled heater and it warms a room and keeps it warm. I was amazed what a great job it did. I had to turn it down to keep the room from getting too warm. It is a radiating heat and is much more efficient and cheaper to run then old space heaters. And safe for kids, it doesn't get hot enough on the outside to cause burns or catch anything on fire. Be sure it is oil filled. Not the cheap ones.

Granted, I didn't pay a lot of attention to the news report...BUT...what I remember most was that (at least in the Phila., PA area), most of those folks that had extremely higher than normal heating bills had much to do with switching to a third party vendor. So I'm going to guess, mark ups, middle men, etc. One station's 'consumer reporter' apparently was able to get some folks relief.

For us, our last bill was relatively normal despite a very frigid winter hear. We heat with natural gas. Propane prices, I know, have gone through the roof.

Stay as warm as you can!

It's been a rough year for a lot of people we know too. :( We heat with wood so our gas bill is not much (although considering our only usage is the pilot light on our furnace on which the gas never comes on and the bill is almost $150 that is bad enough). Before we had our woodburner we had winter months where the bill was close to $1000.

We have had an extremely cold winter this year and are also dealing with higher heating bills. However, right now, people in our area are worried about the water pipes and the sewer lines freezing. The frost has gone 4 to 6 feet deep in places and many homes are without water or sewer. My family has been lucky. We still have water and sewer but my mom's sewer froze and the city told her they could not do anything until spring. Her wonderful neighbors are letting her use their shower and bathroom. They tell us that things will get worse as the weather eventually warms up because it will drive the frost deeper and to expect broken water mains and sewer lines in the spring. I have seen bad winters before but I don't think I have ever seen one like this.

ugh. I can't even imagine. :( I know that there are some around here (not close to us) that have been a month without water. Usually their neighbors are in the same boat too.

We recently moved to Michigan and our new to us house is heated by propane. 2 mos ago, we had a new tank placed and our very first fill. (500 gal) @ $2.19/gal. Since we have never had propane before, we had no idea what it would take to heat our home (3200 sqft). We have been so busy going back in forth between our old home (3 hrs away in Indiana) getting it ready to be put on the market, we never thought to check our tank. Last Saturday we checked it and we only had 5% left! We called the propane company, figuring we were going to have to pay an after hours fee. Nope, because we were told that do to the harsh winter we are having, the propane company isn't making calls after hours, holidays or weekends. I was told to call back on Monday morning and get a work order started and that it would be 5 days after until they could get to us. I called @7:55 am on Monday and they answered. I explained our situation and our ignorance about propane. I was told that it would be 3-5 days until we were filled. I explained that I had turned our heat down to 60* and wasn't using the stove or the dryer and limiting hot water and asked if we would be okay for 5 days. (I have 2 senior dogs as well). The lady told me it would be cutting it close. Lo and behold, Tuesday afternoon the propane truck backed into our driveway! I went out to the driver and told him he was my hero. He said that because we were brand new customers they had put us on the priority list. He told me what to do so we didn't get in the same situation again (and we won't !) When he filled our tank, it was at 1%! We never would have made it 5 days. We had natural gas at our old home and would choke on those bills; I think the old dogs are going to have to get jobs to help pay for our propane bills!!!

I have been wondering how everyone was coping with the extreme cold....my heart goes out to you. Don't know what's worse extreme cold or extreme heat/drought, which is what we are dealing with. We haven't had a drop of moisture for over 88 days....even the biggest trees on our block are suffering. Today, I am sitting here in a puddle of sweat, literally wearing nothing but a cotton sarong. We don't have aircon, just ceiling fans. Fortunately a few years ago we put in solar panels to help with massive rises in electricity. Water here is also very expensive. We have a solar hot water system, to save it overheating I am running my washing machine on hot for all our washing, the water going into the machine is at boiling point. The dogs are sprawled out on the tiles and I have covered the bird cage with a wet towel to stop our old budgies from falling off the perch. I am grateful for what we have....but am sick of the relentless heat and hot easterly winds. All the best to you coping with the cold.

When my sister moved from CA to WA - she about had a heart attack with her first heating bill - it was over $800.00 1n 2010, she had been at my mother's which was about one third of that. I told her Mother had her bill adjusted so it was an average every month and once a year she either had to pay some additional or had a credit. They were all electric. She said she contacted their company and have since been able to average too.

We have our gas and electric bills on the averaged paying system too, but I know we're going to take a hit in May when they re-do them. Just hope we don't have to come up with lots of $$$.

We heat with a wood pellet stove & buy 1 ton of pellets at a time - about $250 for the brand we normally buy - the dealer stores them for us so we only bring home about 500# at a time. With this latest storm predicted, we decided to pick up some more pellets (we had already picked up all our prepaid - surprise - the truck the dealer was expecting didn't come in - so none to be had from our regular source. We weren't out, but would be cutting it close if we got snowed in, which happens with blowing & drifting snow since we are 1/4 mile off the county road. We started calling around & all the places within 20 miles (we are 20 miles from everything) were out. Finally found a place 40 miles away that had pellets - prepaid over the phone, so the would still be there when we got there. Lesson learned - from now on when we pick up the last of our prepaid we will immediately prepay for more.

Our air conditioner died this summer. It was 30+ years old. While the repair guy was out there, he replaced the air, heater, added a return, etc and told us it would significantly lower our heating and cooling bills. What timing. So glad I did it. Our bills are actually about 1/3 lower. Adding the extra return really helped a lot too and was not very expensive to do. In all it was $6,000 to do everything but I think in a few years, we will break even and then make $$$.

$262.00 last month - $255.00 this month. Gas and electric for a four room house. Beat that one! Temp set at 65 at night, 70 during the day! Really looking forward to Spring. I usually turn the heat off around middle to end of April.

I do consider myself fortunate though because our son and family have propane heat and they are running out. Have been keeping their thermostat at 60.

I found out something though. My sister has propane and she saves $160 a month and pays for the whole year in advance at the price it is at that time and has it all paid for the following winter. Which she is doing right now - saving!!!! She says she's good until April or May and maybe the price will go down somewhat in that time.

Edie

We had our propane tank filled in Jan before the price hike. When we heard of that, we went to using 2 eden pure heaters, each will heat 1000 square feet, (the Jan propane bill for 197 gals was $491) Then the price doubled. We just got our first electric bill doing this, and it was $241. We have only used 10% of our propane fill, for cooking and hot water, so I know we will make it till the price drops. I figure a $241 electric bill is better then a $1000 propane bill any day, and the two heaters keep it plenty warm in here. Average between 69-72 degrees depending on how cold it is, they are also completely safe, no carbon monoxide to worry about or fire hazard and do not get hot to the touch.

We were fortunate enough to have a wood burning furnace installed out back, dh still has to cut and bring the wood to the house but once we have it all set up...this keeps our whole house warm and heats our hot water as well. Living on a farm makes getting the wood a little easier as well. We are total electric...the only problem is if the power goes out...the fans can't blow the warm air thru the house, but we also have a back up generator.. So far our highest bill has still been under $200... and we keep the heat on at 76 to 78....this is our 2nd year with the furnace and i love it...

I'm fortunate here in Carroll, IA, they have a budget plan for both gas and power so I use them. Every 6 months they average your last 6 months worth of bills and charge accordingly so I know exactly what my bill will be each month and figure out my budget. The water bill is the only one they won't do a budget plan for. This year for my gas bill I didn't have to pay a monthly bill for 3 months as I'd over paid by that time. Works for me this way.

Right now after 2 days of snow the temps are -9 so I'm not going outside anytime soon to finish shoveling the walks. Did the driveway and front walks last night before dinner but got so cold and my ear muffs wouldn't stay on so I came in. I feel for my poor birds and squirrels as I try to keep their seed and bread containers filled up during these days.

AS I read all of these comments I can pretty well tell that most of us are from the Midwest. What a shock when I got my gas bill the other day. We were told to expect higher bills but this is ridiculous. I live alone in a small home and still the bill was three times higher than most winters! I have to wear three sweaters when I want to quilt as my machine is up against the windows. Spose I could move it but I do like looking out and hate to change everything just for winter.

A notice came with my bill stating why it was so high and that we are not alone as the Midwest is getting hit hard. I usually pay $150 to $190 during the winter. I am all electric and have cheap municipal electric. This month is $400. Probably will still be high next month. I have lived in this house 10 years and the bill only hit $200 once. I hope there is some kind of help for the elderly who can't afford the high cost of staying warm.

Yesterday it was 55. Right now it is +10 feels like - 3 and this is our high for the day. Woke up to a solid sheet of ice. There is a warning to stay off the roads. My brother heats with wood and in the 35 yrs they've lived there they have used more wood then ever before. I just keep telling myself there are only 18 days til spring. And keep looking at the seed catalog dreaming of my garden.... : )

We are all electric, 3000 sq ft plus pool and shop with two freezers and extra fridge running. 2 central units with heat pump and ac. We have a wood burning fireplace with insert if the power goes out. Our electric bill has been under $200 for years. Our house is very well insulated. The guy who built it had double outside walls built with air gap or something like that. It was his could live off the grid house if necessary. He was adding solar panels when he died so they never got installed. We opted not to have them. Once heated or cooled it stays that way for a very long time. No gas bill. The guild members that use natural gas are saying how their heating bill has doubled and some even tripled this winter.

That's what we have too. I don't remember how long we've had it but the novelty of a lower bill never wears off. lol. We get free wood from FIL's woods which helps a ton. Ours isn't hooked up to our water heater though. Our current one is electric so I'm not sure if it can be hooked up to it.

I've heard of people hooking them up to the dryer too. Ours is electric.

I agree with Snooze2978 about feeling sorry for my wild birds and critters. I'm seeing less of them. Hopefully they're not dead. All I can do is keep putting out their food and pray for the warmer weather.

We lowered the thermostat and added layers and wrap up in afghans to watch TV, though I always did this as I love the cuddly feeling. We just broke a record for the coldest winter since 1915/1916. Last night was -27. Propane shortage up this way but we are lucky to have natural gas. In town they are told to leave the water running since Dec. Lots of snow has helped protect septic systems.

Our bill was $305.00 this month, last month it was $324.00. We heat a 1628 sq.ft. house, a 24 x 30 shop and the garage. The dogs all have heated houses and when it is really cold they sleep in the shop or the garage.
The house is all electric, our saving grace is the 6" insulated exterior walls and ceiling as well as the floor. We had a heat pump installed shortly after moving in. It saves us a lot on heating/cooling this house
We insulated the shop extremely well also.

We are enrolled in Budget Billing and yet when the bill comes it varies from month to month and they only read the meter twice a year in the summer.....Another rip-off.

We have resorted to wearing layers; sometimes an undershirt, turtleneck and two sweatshirts. Since we spend most of our time in the living room, we have turned the thermostat down and have an electric space heater for this room. I have a separate thermostat for my basement sewing which holds the heat well. The electric is expensive, but not at much as oil. When we moved here about 15 years ago, oil was $.69/gal. Now it runs close to $4. -- We are thinking of moving South. Our winter here is PA has been cold and snowy. We are expecting between 3 and 9 more inches this evening. It has already started. It is beautiful when it is new and pure white. It is just when it mixes with cinders or stones and looks so ugly and just lays along the roads, etc.

The locals plow to a vacant area at the lower end of our lot and in the spring we have piles of little stones which we try to remove before cutting season. It has been suggested we use the shop vac to remove same. This would save a lot of back-breaking work. BUT spring and summer cannot come fast enough!!!

Cold in Iowa too used to cost around $300 to heat my house (28x54) we built in 1974 insulated around the basement walls with 1" styrofoam. locals thought we were crazy. Well turned out not so crazy., This year cost will be around $800 for the season. summer fill was $1.35 gal Dec was $2.01 still have about 35% hope it lasts through the month of March. Stay warm.

We keep our temp at 65 during the day and 63 at night. You'd think that would really help with the bill but it's a lot higher this year. I wear so many layers I can hardly move sometimes and nothing helps my hands. Some days I have to use the hand warmers that hunters use. Makes us hearty as my dad would say. At 63 I want to be comfortable and not hearty!!!

I don't know what they expect people to do. 100 gal of propane usually lasts me a year, only heat with it in the wintertime. I filled up in December at 237.00 The tank is almost in the red now and they told me it would cost me $400 plus tax for the next 100. I don't have it. That is over half my monthly income. I was told by my. I wish Spring would get here like yesterday!!!

We are on propane and on a level pay, have been paying $94 monthly, it has not gone up to $218 monthly. I am glad we can pay bill, but I think it is a crock. Someone is supposed to be investigating price gouging in our state, but I doubt we hear any more about it. It is a shame what happens when you are on a fixed income.

It will be over soon! The last snow for last nite was none existing!

Winters are predicted to keep getting colder and longer. It's time to insulate your house for extreme cold or move if you are having trouble with the cold and costs now.

As I mentioned I'm on a budget plan here in Iowa and I love it. I also keep my thermostat stat around 69 during the day on the 1st floor, 62 upstairs in the bedrooms all the time and in the basement around 70 all the time as that's where I park my carcass during the day. When the temps start to get cold I live in my long john tops and sweat pants with usually a thin flannel buttoned shirt I found at the Thrift Store. While watching TV with the kitties I have a lap quilt over my legs plus the kitties to keep me warm and I usually have to turn the thermostat down to 62 by then. Their body heat keeps me warm. I purchased goose down blankets for all the beds when I first moved up here as I'm from Florida and thought I'd get too cold at night. These blankets keep me toasty the entire night to the point of sweating so I've gotten my money's worth from them. Again I love my budget planning as I'm on a pension and have to make it last the full month. Even with this cold, cold winter we've had I'd never return to Florida with the bugs, humidity and hurricanes.

Ours hasn't been too bad. We moved from rural to city and had a wood stove, now we have gas. What a difference! Still, I like being in town and being close to the things we need to get to.

Our heating bill is higher (this Ohio, no surprise) but we've had 2 things happen in this house that have NEVER happened before. We've had the house for 33 years and never had a frozen pipe. My husband resorted to cutting a hole in the drywall - it worked! We're thinking about putting a door similar to what's on the kitchen cupboards to keep one on super subzero nights

Last week I heard a noise like someone was here, but the dogs didn't get up, very unusual for them. There was no one on the back porch so I just figured I was hearing things. A few days later we noticed one of our windows was broken. There was snow below it and no footprints so we just figured the cold broke it! I honestly never heard of such a thing.
We're going to worry about it in the spring because it's double paned and only the outer pane was shattered. The screen was holding the glass on the outside and the other pane was holding it on the inside.
We got all new windows 20 or so years ago, and they have argon gas between the 2 panes. My argon escaped!

Weird