Yikes..Could this Heating Bill be Right?
We moved into a large victorian house last spring, so this is our first winter in the house. We were expecting to pay a ton for winter heating, but we just got our National Grid bill for Nov…it’s over $700. We replaced the boiler last month, so I can’t imagine that eating up gas. We…
We moved into a large victorian house last spring, so this is our first winter in the house. We were expecting to pay a ton for winter heating, but we just got our National Grid bill for Nov…it’s over $700.
We replaced the boiler last month, so I can’t imagine that eating up gas. We also keep the thermostat at 68 degrees…often to the dismay of our office tenants on the first floor.
Is this what others pay for heat in the winter? Or are we out of whack? Granted, the house is big (4000 square feet), three stories, detached, and drafty. But $700/month??? I shudder to think of what Dec and Jan will look like. Tell me it ain’t so…
can’t say enough about the level plan. it really takes the sting out of those massive winter bills and really helps figure out your overall budget. We do it for Con Ed bills, too.
Unfortunately, that bill is right. But, once your bill is $0, get on the level payment plan. That way you won’t faint when you open your bills in the winter.
couple of points.
first the bill does seem high. I have a three family Brownstone and Both my november and december bills that include the boiler, the tenants stove, hot water and my gas dryer were under $300 per month….(the november bill was slightly over estimated and corrected in December
also if you have a three family or more you are obligated to keep the temp 68 or above from 6am to 10 pm and 55 from 10 pm to 6 am….
Wow, this is so, so helpful…definitely one of the most useful exchanges I’ve had here. I like Amanda’s idea of posting this stuff. I’m also in shock at the variation here. It’s like salaries: the more info we have, the more we can do to change things (in this case, make adjustments to our houses, check with National Grid…).
We live in one of those big freestanding wood shingle Victorians, and have only begun dealing with heat loss. Last winter we just lived in it, and paid around $650/month for winter heat. This year I put plastic film on ALL the windows and we pay more like $400/month.
We also just had a free energy audit by National Grid, which lasted about 3 hours. The inspector went through the entire house and had a long list of suggestions. Then we had a conservation specialist recommended by National Grid come out and after another inspection and a blower test, he worked up a detailed quote to perform the improvements. It includes replacing around 30 windows–and we are landmarked, so this will be fun! (Tongue in cheek). Plus doing basic insulating, sealing against wind and heat loss, etc etc. After the work is done, they estimate we’ll save about $250/month on our current energy costs. Worth it to me! Anyway, all of this work is eligible for a 1% loan through some NY State program. So I would say to all of you out there–take advantage of this. It’s a complex process, but if you can stomach the paperwork, the low-interest loan makes it feasible since the energy savings will offset the cost of the loan. I’ll let you know how it all works out. The process apparently takes about a year from first audit to final loan approval and work completion. OH, the phone number is 877-NY-SMART. I just happen to have the file on my desk, I have nothing at all to do with them other than being a homeowner who believes this may be exactly what we all need. We want to be more green, save cash, waste less, bla bla…
Once again: I think brownstoner should let us make home profiles that are anonymously attached to our login profiles, where we can say how many families, how many square feet and what we pay for utilities.
I find these to be some of the most useful threads and it would be really interesting to be able to see that most people with a three family brownstone are using half as much water as me. For instance.
Not that I have a house. Sigh.
Yes, indeedy, Pitbull, and on top of that you have to pay for electric and water in the utilities dept.
wow i never realized how much heat costs before! it’s like higher than some peoples rents!
*rob*
I had National Grid install the meters that they read from the street last Fall. When I got the November bill it seemed a little high but then the January bill was $1200. I called and they said there was NO WAY there could be an error. So then I happened to be in the basement and took a meter reading. I checked it against the bill and it was way off – to the tune of over $800.
When I called back another person said those street readings are sometimes off, so my advice is to check.