A silly question

[Josephine96]

Probably none of you know this.. lol..

But I have a question.. As you all know.. I am gradually saving up my Wal Mart $ to get an apt.

Here's the question.. What do you think the average electric bill would be for someone living by themselves..

If ever home during the day.. I use sunlight for my light.. and I am actually comfortable in a room at most temps. hot or cold.. I'm just curious just in case I find a place and electric was the only bill or what not

[alicia-w]

Maybe you should find a place with utilities included?

We have a 3000sf house (single story) and our bill is never more than 160 a month. goes down to 70 or so in the winter, thanks to our huge fireplace....

i wouldnt think it could be very much. you could call your local power company and ask them...

[Josephine96]

Actually Alicia.. I am looking for a place with utilities.. lol.. But can't find very many lol

[alicia-w]

First of all, it wasnt a silly question, and to try to answer your question (sorry i didnt do that the first time), go here:

http://www.ouc.com/account/rates/sc_rate_tariff.pdf

and go to page 3 of 36.

that should help give you some idea....

[GalvestonDuck]

Like Alicia said, you can call the electric company and check with them. If you know a few of the properties that you might be interested in, you can ask them what the average bill for those locations was for the last tenant.

Here in TX, they usually tell you the average when you sign up for electricity to be put in your name. I had one small apartment where my electricity was only about $15-$20 a month (and I used my computer a lot and a window unit A/C). Where I am now, it averages three times that amount, but I have more stuff running and a bigger A/C. However, for a couple of years, I lived at a place where all bills and cable were paid. It was nice. Here, "all utilities paid" places are generally quite nice apartment complexes. They aren't that expensive either (a little more than one without utilities, obviously, but it's all budgeted together so it was nice). In Lexington, those places were dirt cheap and trashy and not the places I wanted to live in.

I'd suggest trying to find an all bills paid place if you can. It's easier to budget when you're getting out on your own.

Good luck!

[Josephine96]

Thank you Duck.. I'm looking very cautiously lol..

[The Big Dog]

There are a lot of variables at play here:

- The floor you're on will make a difference. Top floor units have more exposure to the sun.
- What is the exposure? Western exposures will cost you more in electricity.
- How old are the appliances, particularly the A/C? An old A/C might not be very efficient.
- Of course the obvious ones -- how much square footage and how cool do you like it in the summer?

If you go with a 1/1, about 800 SF, I would ballpark it around $80 in the summer, give or take.

[Josephine96]

Only 80 dollars isn't too bad.. Which means if worse comes to worse.. if I find something where everything else is covered.. I'll still have plenty of $ to play around with.

[The Big Dog]

Well, I was sort of basing that on my own experience. Until recently, I had a 1/1 with about 800 SF, and I paid around $80 in the summer. Kept my A/C around 75, but the A/C unit was also about 20 years old, so probably not too efficient. I also had my computer on 24/7. First floor with a NE and SE exposure. My place before that had the same dimensions, a NE/NW (I think), but it was second floor, and I paid a little more.

This is also FPL -- I don't know if you're on FPL up there. Not all of Florida is.