Summer/AC...Winter/ heat

AZ Jim

AZ Jim

R.I.P. With Us In Spirit Only
Location
SURPRISE, ARIZONA
Here in Arizona my AC bill in Summer gets pretty high. I know some of you have the same problem with heat in winter. Our utility company has a equalizer plan where they take your annual total expense for the bill and divide it into 12. Makes it easier to plan on and pay each month. Any of you have similar plans?
 

I'm in NM and my summer bill gets pretty high, too, even just with my swamp cooler. Most of us here have a swamp cooler and not refrigerated air -- which kind do you have? I'd absolutely die (really!) without adequate cooling during the godawful summer heat here. I considered switching to refrigerated air last time I replaced my swamp cooler, but I couldn't really afford it and it's more expensive to run, too.
 
I have central AC here in the Phoenix area. Outlets in every room. If you want to set it low enough it will freeze your butt off.....
 

We have an available plan here to divide the bills up over a period of months but I'm not on one. Thanks for reminding me, I should get on one of those plans. I have high gas bills for heating in the Winter and high electric bills in the summer running my AC. It's been hot and humid several times so far this season but I kept my windows and blinds shut to keep some of the heat out. Thankfully it hasn't gone above 75 degrees in my apt. I have an oscillating fan running all the time and there is a good breeze from it. I hope there are lots of days I can keep the AC off. Plus my AC has a moldy smell coming from it at times or when I first turn it on-I sprayed a little bit of hydrogen peroxide in the slots and let it dry-will see if it did any good. Told the manager about it and they did nothing but say "yeah, that happens!" Can't really complain about them, though, they are really nice people and fix everything around here pretty fast compared to other places I've lived. :sentimental:
 
Ruthanne said:
We have an available plan here to divide the bills up over a period of months but I'm not on one. Thanks for reminding me, I should get on one of those plans. I have high gas bills for heating in the Winter and high electric bills in the summer running my AC. It's been hot and humid several times so far this season but I kept my windows and blinds shut to keep some of the heat out. Thankfully it hasn't gone above 75 degrees in my apt. I have an oscillating fan running all the time and there is a good breeze from it. I hope there are lots of days I can keep the AC off. Plus my AC has a moldy smell coming from it at times. Told the manager about it and they did nothing but say "yeah, that happens!" Can't really complain about them, though, they are really nice people and fix everything around here pretty fast compared to other places I've lived. :sentimental:
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That mold smell sounds dangerous to me.
 
I believe they call that a budget plan. We had it when we lived in AZ and also here in FL.
We also have it on autopay. If we went away for a couple of months it was all taken care of. I joked that I could be laying in the woods dead and the system would continue without me. We no longer go camping, so it won't happen.

Swamp coolers don't work in humid climates like FL.
 
Butterfly said:
I'm in NM and my summer bill gets pretty high, too, even just with my swamp cooler. Most of us here have a swamp cooler and not refrigerated air -- which kind do you have? I'd absolutely die (really!) without adequate cooling during the godawful summer heat here. I considered switching to refrigerated air last time I replaced my swamp cooler, but I couldn't really afford it and it's more expensive to run, too.
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The swamp cooler brings back memories of my early childhood in west Texas.
Our house had a huge swamp cooler. It kept the house cool.

.
 
It's called "balanced billing" in our area (Houston). We have been on it for many years; currently pay about $215 a month year round. Our a/c bills are high due to heat and humidity.
 
The budget plan is available in my area but I've never used it.

We also have a state-sponsored heating assistance program available to low-income seniors called HEAP that subsidizes the cost of home heating.

The complex that I live in includes the heat and hot water so I suppose that is a balancing plan of sorts.

I have a couple of window air conditioners in the closet but I have not needed them in the nine years that I've lived here. In the summer we usually get two or three hot humid days in a row and then a cold front comes through and cools things off.

My monthly utility bill runs approx $50.00/month, most of that is for the delivery charges and not the actual cost of gas or electricity.
 
My bills have been "Equalised", as you say Jim, for years
and years.

I transferred from British Gas, who supplied both gas and
electricity to another supplier and my total monthly bill
halved.

So maybe you should look around at other suppliers.

Mike.
 
I'm going to look into that equal payments plan. I know it was offered in Austin for many years, but I haven't seen it, lately. My electric bill runs from $160 in the winter, to $325 in the summer. Gas is $30 in the summer, to $70 in the winter.
 

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