redcat

I just got this month's gas bill (just under $200), and I'm still in shock. I'm a fairly new homeowner, and I'm just wondering if my bill is unusually high. The bill's at home, so I don't have the specifics of therms used etc., but I'll try to explain my situation in general. I have a house with 1600 sq ft of living area, two-story, gas furnace and water heater. I live alone, so I'm the only one showering, and I don't even use hot water when I do laundry. I think the average temp. last month was probably around 30-40 degrees in my area. I have skylights throughout the house, so I'm sure that's one source of bad insulation. I was keeping the thermostat at around 68 when I was home, 60 when I was at work. How does this compare with other people's bills?

ANDREMIKE

I am on a budget plan and my monthly payment for a 2000sqft house for a family of 4 is $170.00 per month.

Your bill is probably about right...

Erasmus

Move to Texas - I pay about $30, tops, for gas in the winter months. Of course, our electricity bill runs upwards of $200 for the rest of the time for a 1800 sq ft home.

jaelliot

We paid about $300 a month last year for our gas furnace. That was just during the winter months. During summer we pay nothing obviously.

PeMo

I just got my bill yesterday - it was $165.

If you don't have one already, get one of those programmable thermostats. They're about $40-50 but they save a lot of money.

Edit to add: 2900 sq ft house in Minnesota, so we must have cheap gas. 70 when we're home, 67 while we sleep, 63 when we're at work. But, now my wife is home with newborn, so it's pretty much 70 all day now.

jonw9

Mine I believe is around $125, for basically living the same type and size house as you. However, I drop the temp at night by 5 degrees (~10pm to 6 am), and while at work by 8-10 degrees (7am to 4 pm) with a programmable themostat. Another thing to condiser is a water-heater blanket. Keeps a bit more insulated, and may help save a bit of gas.

Minor Threat

I'm on the level pay plan ~ $180.00 a month for a 3200sqft 2 story home. Before I went on that, bills in the summer were laughable and some in the coldest part of winter were ~ $375.00.

Minor Threat

Oh yeah, invest in a programmable thermostat if you don't already have one.....

kvrdave

Mine was about $200 this month. 2400 sq ft. old farm house with gas furnace, hot water, dryer, and range, and a seperate gas heater in the Man Room.

So, I think yours sounds a little high.

tywebb1976

About $125, 1400 sq feet, 2 story house. Gas heater.

Is it wise to turn down the thermostat that much when you are at work? I leave mine at 69 all the time. Aren't they designed to run more efficienct, so having it run that hard at night, may be the reason your bill is so high.

kvrdave

True for heat pumps, but not for gas heaters. You are money ahead to turn it down whenever you are not home. Turn it down to 50 and you are still saving money, even though it will run longer when it turns back on.

GoVegan

Cool. I really need to start doing that. My house is pretty well insulated, even though it has quite a few skylights, but I haven't been able to figure out my programmable thermostat yet.

I work in IT.

Minor Threat

Green Jello

Is it a new home? If not, you can get the bill history for the previous owner from the utility company.

My house is 2100 sq. ft. and I keep the thermostat at 68 when I am home and 55 when I'm at work. It's been between 10 and 40 degrees lately and my bills have been about $150 - $180 a month.

Comparing bill amounts is useless, however, because gas prices vary all over. You really need to compare the therms used.

Kittydreamer

My Northwest Natural Gas bill that I paid in September last year was $23, in October it was $28, in November it went up to $100! Then, in December I paid $160...I can't wait to see how much it will be in January.

On top of the gas bill, I also get the pleasure of paying out to PGE.

OldDude

My budget plan is $136/month all year, but that's $300-400 for the two worst winter months, $20 in summer if I look at details

Minor Threat

Jazzbutcher

If you are using a gas water heater, turn down the water temp to just enough to sustain a shower for you. Otherwise, you just keep heating that tank over and over. If you are scalding your hands at the sink, it's probably too hot. this move saved me quite a bit on my bill. Prog. thermostats are a must. See if you can get a free energy audit from your utility--they might point out some insulation opportunities. How old is the furnace? Has it been serviced recently? Efficiency degrades over time so it may be worth looking into.

Kittydreamer

Nice one!

Minor Threat

every now and then.....

Hospitaller

I just moved into my new house after thanksgiving (2600sf) and was pretty winded when my first gas bill was ~170. I live alone so I keep the place pretty chilly (like around 63) which kinda sucks cause the great room is always colder than that since its so large and theres only a couple vents there. since that first bill though ive managed to close all the upstairs vents (master suite is on first floor).

I have one of those gas fireplaces that turns on with a switch, and when not on, theres a little "pilot light" type deal glowing in the base of it. Is this like a massive waste of gas or not really? Does anyone have a good idea how efficient the things are when on too? Its nice but I dont want to pay $20 an hour to run the thing or anything

kvrdave

It is probably less than $1 an hour and the pilot light probably costs you $.25 a day. That isn't a big deal.

GoVegan

Well, you're just full of useful info for me. I have one of those fireplaces too, and I was also wondering how much it's costing me. I'm glad to see that it's fairly inexpensive to have it on, but I'm surprised that just the pilot light would be so much. That's almost $100 per year.

PrincessT

Can you simply turn the gas to off in the warmer months? That might save some money.

We have a 10 year old 1350 sq. ft. townhouse, 2 story, not end unit and our highest monthly gas bill was $125 or so. We have a programmable thermostat, keep it at 69 all the time (cats get cold in the day if we don't). We also use gas for our dryer, cooking, fireplace which we indulge in for spot-heating even though I know it isn't efficient, and our water heater is gas. We live in the Chicago area, so it gets pretty cold here! No budget plan for me.

I worry about what our bill will be when we move. It will likely be a 30 year old single family home.

kvrdave

I leave mine off 8 months of the year. You might consider doing that.