The last power bill was over 221.00. Since it really got cold, I live in fear on the next bill! I have Carrier electric furnace model 4B4BNF042000AAAA.
Here's some other info:
Location = Nebraska House = 1568 sqft ranch Walls R-19 Ceiling R-38 Poured concrete full basement with 9' walls, unfinished and uninsulated w/open staircase to basement We usually try to keep it 71-72 degrees in the house.
The house is new and pretty tight. I am working on air-sealing and insulating the rim-joist. Is there anything else I can be doing? Would adding another R-19 in the attic help? The ducts are in good shape and all properly taped, but how much do returns matter? The house has 5 returns total. One in each bedroom (3), one in the dining area, and one in the hallway. The returns in the bedrooms are installed near the ceiling, and the hall and dining room returns are near the floor. Also, our installer cut in a return near the airhandler in the basement. He said it would keep the basement warmer, because it would pull more warm air in. Is this a bad idea??
Is this Carrier furnace just an un-efficient cheap piece of crap? Besides turning the heat down to 60 degrees, is there anything I can do to reduce these scary power bills, or do I need to invest in better equipment?
Thank you, J.A. Michel