Our energy bills???

horseless carriage said:
We looked into the cost of solar panels. Our home is rather large, it would cost around £12,000. Given that we pay around £800 a year for electricity, it would take fifteen years to break-even. Doing the sums, I will be 77 in about four or five months time, it's hardly worth it. What we are planning to do, long term, is to scrub up our home, as in decorate it, ensure it's presentable, then sell it to downsize to a bungalow. No stairs, less home to heat, smaller utility bills and a lower council tax bill. (Council tax is a tax paid to the local authority. It's based on the size of your home.) Our five-bedroomed house costs us a lot more than the utility bills.
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you won't be paying £800 a year in Electricity THIS year.. most people are paying around £2,500 annually now with the increases.. and gas is not far behind
 

My bill last month was $108 and I have everything electric in a 1600 sq ft house. However, the weather has been mild so far, chilly at night and in the 60's/70's during the day. Since returning from vacation about 4 days ago, I have had neither heat nor AC on. It is very pleasant inside and I open the windows in the morning.

My largest bills which are normally in the winter (mid-December to March), average about $150. I consider that reasonable. Even though electric rates tripled recently, I'm able to handle it because I don't need a lot of heat in the winter nor a lot of AC during the summer.
 
rasmusjc said:
I am considering adding solar panels, but the only way I would do it is to buy the solar panels and equipment outright, instead of financing the panels guaranteeing that my electric/utility bill will never be lower then $150/mo. for the next 25 years (irritates me how solar panel salesmen keep telling me that my electric bills could be zero and not mentioning that it is $0/mo. + $150/mo. minimum). Price I got quoted too was finance the solar panels at $30,000 - $40,000 to pay off for $150/yr.

If I just buy them, it costs estimated at $20,000 - $30,000/yr. for our house.
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you can go portable solar...inverters and panels...we did blueetti...monocrystalline panels...2/2000 watt...
and 2/800 watt inverters...less than $6500
 

Yes, it's horrible. But we knew this would happen as soon as Anwar and the Keystone XL pipeline were shut down, didn't we?
Propane, natural gas, electricity, basic needs, transportation, food; even worldwide, everything is affected.

All I can do is get out my Hudson Bay wool blankets, keep my heat off during the night, keep lights off and
vote correctly.
 
Wow, thank goodness heat is included in my rent. The rents are so low here, and the buildings are less than half full. I can only guess that the company keeps them going because it's cheaper than tearing them down. Or they're waiting for the town to boom again.

As for my own electric bill (lights, etc.), I can cut back a bit if necessary. But so far so good.
 
bingo said:
you can go portable solar...inverters and panels...we did blueetti...monocrystalline panels...2/2000 watt...
and 2/800 watt inverters...less than $6500
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Good idea. BTW, cost for my quoted solar panels outright is $20k to $30k for our house. Not per year (I messed up in my post).
 
For all fellow Brits, have you got the first £66 off your electricity bill? I've just got a top up of heating oil - just short of £500, but that should be covered by the winter fuel allowance + additional pensioners payment of £300. There is talk of an extra £100 for households without mains gas, but nothing positive yet. I've stocked up pretty well for Christmas, but there's a fear that Bird Flu will cause a shortage of turkeys.

Our friends in the village have just had solar panels fitted and are convinced that they will break even in 4 years and their house will rise in value.
I think they are dreaming.
 
SeniorBen said:
The U.S. is the number one producer of oil and gas, but it all goes on the world market, so we don't benefit from its production if we produce more or less (contrary to what some would have you believe). Profit is all that matters these days, and because of the shortages caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and related disruptions, it's more profitable for energy companies to ship oil and gas overseas than to keep it here at low prices.
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You could shout this a thousand times but it will still fall on deaf ears. Certain Americans think the US government owns the energy extracted. US Oil companies are businesses with shareholders. The latter are priority uno. Doesn't matter how much additional energy is produced in this country because prices are set by the global market.
 
rasmusjc said:
Good idea. BTW, cost for my quoted solar panels outright is $20k to $30k for our house. Not per year (I messed up in my post).
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Utube has great info on portable solar...lithium ion phosphate inverter battery is way to go...you can get high wattage systems lots less...best wishes to be warm this winter
 
bingo said:
Utube has great info on portable solar...lithium ion phosphate inverter battery is way to go...you can get high wattage systems lots less...best wishes to be warm this winter
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Thanks, best wishes to you too to stay warm this winter. I've been looking around for something that will generate energy for a couple of weeks, in case we get a winter vortex again like we did 2 years ago. The Texas power grid was taxed to its max and could have failed on us...thankfully it didn't, but living through weeks of -3 degrees F (-19.444 degrees C) during daylight. What happens to solar panels in sunlight that are totally covered in ice?
 
I don't know what our power bill will be, since we have the machine that makes oxygen for me. A neighbor tells me her bill went way up. Before this it was about $120.00 every 2 months.
 
Actually my heat and electric bills were surprisingly low this month. I know the gas bill will go up though as it gets colder.
 
rasmusjc said:
Thanks, best wishes to you too to stay warm this winter. I've been looking around for something that will generate energy for a couple of weeks, in case we get a winter vortex again like we did 2 years ago. The Texas power grid was taxed to its max and could have failed on us...thankfully it didn't, but living through weeks of -3 degrees F (-19.444 degrees C) during daylight. What happens to solar panels in sunlight that are totally covered in ice?
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Since these are portable...we can move in til storm passes...inverters hold charge without use up to a year...also can plug inverters into wall outlet for charge if power is available...oh..first determine your wattage needs...what you want to be running...for how long...wattage is first thing to check on your heater...or appliance.
 
Electricity has jumped up somewhat. I have some long sleeve t-shirts i will wear when the cold weather gets serious. I can keep the house 4 degrees cooler just doing that. Overall, utilities are not a big deal for me. Taxes are the single biggest increase in my cost of living. It's Not because I am making a pile of money. It's because my state has raised various taxes and fees quite a bit over the past 5 years and all those increases are really adding up.
 
rasmusjc said:
I am considering adding solar panels, but the only way I would do it is to buy the solar panels and equipment outright, instead of financing the panels guaranteeing that my electric/utility bill will never be lower then $150/mo. for the next 25 years (irritates me how solar panel salesmen keep telling me that my electric bills could be zero and not mentioning that it is $0/mo. + $150/mo. minimum). Price I got quoted too was finance the solar panels at $30,000 - $40,000 to pay off for $150/yr.
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Yup

I went thru that this summer

The only way I'd go solar would be buying outright
 
Oil and gas companies (same thing) are reaping record profits. There is talk of imposing a windfall profits tax on them which might not affect prices, but at least it would bring down the deficit. Since doing so would affect the budget, only a simple majority would be required in the Senate, but even so, there still might not be enough votes.
 
My gas and electricity was costing me £56 per month,
until March/April time, when they wanted to double
it, after a call it was agreed that they take £83 P.M.
that never happened, they took £93, then up it went
again, too £100, they then informed me that it is to
go up again to £138, I called and argued. so we settled
on £125, I am supplied by British Gas, but they are all
more or less the same.

The Government, are giving us extra money to help so
far I had £50 paid as a rebate into my state pension
bank account in September, then £66 last week, I also
got a letter telling me that as I was born before Sept.,
1942, I will get £600 either in November or December,
plus other payments that I can't keep track of and they
can't keep up with the increasing energy prices.

British Gas have taken a partnership with Thames Water
and guess what, my water bill is increasing by 80% this
Month, as they are sort of controlled with the Energy,
they are into a different utility and getting the money
quickly before that gets a "Cap" too.

There is no hiding place.

Mike.
 
Gaer said:
Yes, it's horrible. But we knew this would happen as soon as Anwar and the Keystone XL pipeline were shut down, didn't we?
Propane, natural gas, electricity, basic needs, transportation, food; even worldwide, everything is affected.

All I can do is get out my Hudson Bay wool blankets, keep my heat off during the night, keep lights off and
vote correctly.
Click to expand...
example of look here ..don't look there...people blame the companies..accuse them..when it's root is somewhere else
 
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