The most I had ever paid for an electric bill prior to this was 70 for a 3-month period (2-person apartment connected to central heating). Last month I moved to a 1-person place that is NOT connected to central heating (instead uses 3 electric space heaters). I don’t have many appliances and I try to conserve electricity whenever I can, but this month my bill was 135 for the same 3-month period!!!
I realize that space heaters are inefficient for energy use, but can they really affect my energy bill in such a drastic way???
3 Responses
Yes they will run the bill way up. the 3 heaters are way to many. try using just one close off part of apartment if you have too. Just use heaters a night when you sleep; wear a sweater or coat when you are up and about the house.
They sure can. You didn’t say if this is a 1 person house or apartment. I’m in a small house with an electric forced air furnace in a relatively mild climate, in a place with electric rates lower than much of the rest of North America. I live alone and am conservative with the power. My electricity bill for the winter months, like from now till the end of February, will be about $120 a month. In summer, it’s more like $25. It isn’t only the house heating in winter that jacks up your bill. It’s darker longer so you have more lights on, the water heater may work a bit harder, you may take longer showers or baths, you may cook more, stay inside and watch TV more, and I use an electric blanket in winter.
You might try another kind of space heater – oil filled radiator heaters. They are inexpensive, don’t dry out the air, and really have a POSITIVE effect on our electric bills. For more info on our experiment with them, see the following web page:
http://www.building-your-green-home.com/how-to-save-energy.html
Hope this helps.