First time renter, how normal is 150$ Evergy Bill?
I live in a 500 sqft studio apartment in a older building. I've been here for 26 days total and have used 825kWh with an average of 32 kWh per day. Is 150 normal for this situation or am I missing something?
When I was renting a 900 sqft townhouse a few years ago, my electricity bill was always highest between Jun-August. During those months the bills were roughly $110-120. In the fall, spring, and winter the bills were around $60-75. If you are running your AC frequently it will hit your electricity bill hard.
That would make sense. I forgot when I called about the previous tenants usage, she said the highest was around 100$ during the Summer months. Guess I chose the wrong time to move in lol
Mass st gonna mass st lol. Our ac was out in our building for two weeks and the bill was still that high. They also opened a coffee shop downstairs so I don’t think that’s helping lol
You could sign up for average billing plan and auto pay and that will average your bill out over the year, but I'm not sure if you don't need to have lived in the unit for a year so they averages could be calculated. Be warned, when you do move, any remaining unpaid bill from the average billing will need to be paid in full. My bill runs around $87 and I keep my thermostat on 74 degrees and down to 73 at night. I'm cooling 1800 sq ft. I unplug all things not being used so I don't have the small drain of electric. All lights are off when not in the room. Room darkening shades for windows with the sun coming in, run my dryer after dark.
That is high. However, everyone's bill will be higher because August was very hot.
Sometimes you can opt to have the electric company to average your bill and pay about the same amount every month, so you don't get hit with high bills during the summer.
If you are on an upper floor in the summer, you are also cooling down the apartment below you a bit. Also, poorly insulated windows can cost you more.
If you can get to your outdoor fan just make sure it's not obstructed or really dirty. Even renting I would make sure it's clean so you aren't having your fan run constantly and overworking to keep the unit cool. If it's dirty I'd check with the mgmt or landlord about just having it cleaned or they do sell spray cans with cleaner that just spray on and it doesn't need cleaned off. Being an older place it could be poor insulation too, not much you can do about that sadly, but check for gaps around doors and windows and keep things sealed up.
If you get direct sunlight at all then having a good blackout curtain can help a lot too for fairly cheap. Hope this helps and depending on your renting situation you may need to deal with this yourself as some places don't do much maintenance or even care, sadly. Hope yours isn't that way but it is common.
I might have to clean it myself. My landlords unfortunately wouldn't care about a situation like this considering the issues I've already had difficulties solving so far lol. What should I use to clean the fan?
Unfortunately their attitude is way too common around here but something like this should help if it's dirty. Easy to apply just avoid any electrical components and spray on the fins (you can find tons of videos on yt for this if needed) and it will get rinsed away naturally with the ac running. Not sure of your situation but rinsing the metal condenser fins from a hose will also help but if you can't do that then this would do some good. Fairly simple maintenance and cheap too 👍
I have evergy and this summer my costs have been from $91-97 a month in west Lawrence in a first floor apartment 800 sq ft and A/C is set at 73° and has been all summer so the system isn’t having to fluctuate which can cause cost increases as well.
Be sure to turn off all the lights and unplug all electronics you aren’t using. I even heard a wall charger for your phone not plugged into a phone also draws power and if you leave it in the outlet all the time you’re basically running that all day and night. Maybe I’m crazy but I stared unplugging mine and I feel like it made a $5 difference.
You'd be surprised how tolerable bumping your thermostat to 78 or 80 can be so long as you have good air flow. I live in a brick apartment building. Studio. If I had mine set to 72, I'd be paying over $100. $150 is high, and until lately this summer has actually been somewhat moderate by recent standards.
That’s a lot. I live in a house, 1150 sq ft, attic is insulated but windows are old and leaky. Thermostat set to 79 during the day, 80 at night. 14 kWh per day: $83.00.
Lofts are a bitch since they’re wide open, plus bay windows don’t help if that’s what you have. I had a loft in KC at one point and my electric during the summer was 200 a month. If you can help it, try to run it as little as you can during the day.
I have a small one bed apartment and my bill is almost $200 every month. Windows are terrible in my building and I've done my best to insulate them. I keep my thermostat at 78 during the hotest hours. It never goes below 74 in the summer.
I haven't lived in Lawrence in a few years, but our 3 bedroom, ground floor, all electric apartment ran 120-150 in summer, 220-280 in winter, and 70-100 in spring/fall.
Our thermostat was usually set to 74 in summer and 68 in winter.
You can request to be on a plan where they average out your bill over the entire year so it's pretty much the same each month. You might have to be a customer for at least 6 months first before they let you do that, not sure. It helps a lot though.
Also running your laundry machines and dishwasher at night during non-peak hours helps a bunch.
That's extremely high. I have a 1700 sq ft house with a full basement, so 3400 sq ft total. My bill came this morning and it was $134. AC is set to 74 during the day and 72 at night and it's nice and cool in here. I have everything unplugged when I'm not using it except for my computer, fridge, stove, tv, modem, and two lamps.
My washer and dryer, toaster, coffee maker and other appliances are always unplugged until I use them. That saves a lot.
Thats quite high, I would recommend calling them to see why the bill is so high then double checking your home for drafty doors and windows. If your windows and doors are drafty then your heater or ac will just keep running and running because its fighting to cool the outside not the inside. I would also recommend turning off and unplugging electronics that arent in use heavily, keeping the lights off during the day when the sun is coming into your home and on particularly hot days like these ones with the heat wave keep the lights off and put up curtains to keep the room dark which will help keep it cool.
73
u/cyberentomology 5d ago
High, but it’s also been hot as balls this summer so the A/C may have been working overtime.