Looky here...

Somehow my kWh rate is ~22¢ (small print on the paper bill. One year contract for 15¢). I budgeted $200 a month. Without AC and only running the refrigerator, a couple fans, TV and modem. Various lights. The air conditioner equates to 2/3rd of the usage. Without it, $11.70 a week average. ~$47 a month.

Winter is going to be expensive. My gas bill is in the $30 range. Cooking twice a day, hot water heater set at it's lowest temperature. So instead of the water heater thermostat dial set on "HOT", it's set to "Vacation". With the water being more then hot enough for a shower.

I couldn't / wouldn't live in TX without AC. No way no how.

I do. Both doors and all the windows open. My comfortable temperature is 80°. Anything below that and I freeze. Above it, about 87° and I'm warm. 90° and I'll say it's hot. Start sweating.

Come the end of October and I'm going to be uncomfortable. 70° and below. I'm wearing layered clothing. Trying to get back 80°.

Damn, I am running 600 kwh per month in my 900 sqft loft. It is western facing though and has 15 foot high windows all facing right into the sun. Not gas. Only electric.

I am on a one year contract for $.146/kwh as a reference.

Upstairs here, the second floor runs 3° to 5° hotter. With the AC thermostat being downstairs. So to cool the upstairs to where it's as cool or cooler then downstairs. The bill would be an easy $200-$250 a month.

The AC is a split unit. Guessing 2.5ton. So to run heat. The compressor outside doesn't come on. Only the blower motor inside. Gas burner.

I think we are better off selling our places in Texas and living in mud huts in a 3rd world country. No more electric or gas bill to worry about.

Visit west Texas. Houses built of mud. It looks like stucco but it's really foot thick bricks, stacked. Adobe that'll ring like concrete being hit with a hammer. The soil out west has the right ratios. You can actually dig up a house from the ground. Brick molds, mud, some straw. Super insulated.

I'm surprised I didn't see anyone make a pit smoker from the bricks. If they did, I never saw it.

+1

My elect bill will top $500 for the first time ever. Had contractors in and out the last 6 weeks and a hot water line leak that had/ has the electric water heater running 24 hours a day and the hot floor tiles heating up the kitchen and taxing the ac unit.

$500 is our June bill. July - Sept we see around $650 a month.

When you have 4 AC units and a pool, it get's expensive. Not bragging, just putting down perspective.

We keep our homes 80 when not here, 78 when we are, then 76 while sleeping.

R-60 in the attic will help a bunch.

It sounds like the total fees on your electric bill weren’t fully explained when you signed up. In Texas, electric bills include the electricity rate, charges from the Utility Distribution Company (UDC) or Transmission and Distribution Utility (TDU), and taxes. The rate you were quoted might not have covered all these additional costs.

With over 100 Retail Energy Providers (REPs) in Texas, plus energy brokers and aggregators, understanding all the charges is crucial—whether you're managing a household budget or overseeing a large operation with complex energy needs. If you're dealing with commercial contracts or need help navigating these options, feel free to reach out via DM. I specialize in data center, tech, and manufacturing growth and work with a large aggregator and broker. I’d be happy to assist.

My rate from Reliant is 10.8 cents/kwh, but after adding in the Texas-New Mexico passthrough charges (which rates just increased on 9/1), my average hourly rate is 17.8 cents

First time since I've had this house that my monthly electric bill has been over $300

We have spray foam and R-60. We know that we're bleeding out the windows, so next year it will be new windows.

My upstairs is insulation for down stairs. West facing windows are blacked out (down stairs). During our balmy 108°. The west windows would heat to 94°. While the walls were 83°. I use an IR Thermometer to measure temps.

Those windows got aluminum foil and blackout curtains. And it was a drastic improvement. Especially between 2pm to 4pm when that side of the house gets baked. I know aluminum foil is ghetto. People will think it's a drug house but it works. Way cheaper then window film. Cheaper then the Velcro stick on covers. Blackout curtains ain't that expensive. Ironing them takes a couple hours if the wrinkles as they come, bug the living tar out of you.

The only other heat sink is the patio door. Single plane glass. It needs film. But to cover the glass is about $70 bucks. Blackout curtains and the living room would be horror house dark.

On average, I have the interior of house stable at about 10 degrees below outside temps. Come winter and everything I've done will help keep heat in.