Heat pump

Would be good to compare the bill for the entire year and factor in oil.

Of course, my AC runs a lot here compared to when I lived in CT. Not unusual to be 70 to 75 hours a week in July/August. Heating, by comparison is minimal.

This year is a bit warmer. In 2025, June thru August was 520 hours, this year 570. I'm consistent with thermostat setting too.

My 12 month electric bill here is a couple of hundred less than my bill in CT for a year and then I'd have to add about 500 gallons of oil.

I also have a Honeywell T-stat that gives me hours run by day/week. I do track it on a spreadsheet just for curiosity.

My last year is CT I paid for electric $2053, last year here only $1015.

Dang.

You can thank fossil fuel friendly Republicans for that Eddy P:

"AI Overview

Florida's residential electricity rates are relatively low compared to many other large states due to its heavy reliance on natural gas and a regulatory environment that has avoided certain costly climate-mandated grid transitions.

Key Reasons for Lower RatesNatural Gas Reliance:

Florida increased its natural gas power generation from 50% to roughly

Regulatory Approach:

The state has largely avoided the expensive renewable infrastructure and complex climate policies that drive up operational and grid costs in states like California and Texas.

Affordable Generation Mix:

Traditional baseload power sources have remained a priority for state regulators, helping maintain lower baseline generation expenses. "

I lose a few bucks, in summer and longer daylight, I get it back. Same overall cost, no fossil fuel for that portion.

The cost of electric is up since I got the heat pump but I was surprised to see the cost of oil was way up too. It is essentially the price of diesel.

Our state is still possessed by the blue party that wants to crucify us on a cross of green.

They closed down a coal fired plant, will not allow the supplier, Delmarva, to produce electricity, and every year penalize them more for not using green energy. Then when Delmarva needs to increase rates the state blame them and says they are greedy.

We've lived at our residence for close to a decade, with the same windows,window treatments, and heat pump. I don't look at the dollar amounts on my bills because rates/kwh seem to always increase and comparisons with older bills are not reliable indicators of changed usage. I look at the kw/h consumed. Our summer bills show substantially less kw consumption than in the winter. I attribute the discrepancy to the difference in temperature differential between average indoor temp and outdoor temp. In the summer we leave the thermostat at 77-78. Any lower and we reach for a sweater and/or exchange shorts for trousers. What we find unpleasant is high humidity and the A/C keeps that in check. So, even in a heat wave, there's only about a 20-25 degree differential between indoor and outdoor temps. In the winter, the the outside temp is generally between high teens and mid-40s, we keep our thermostat at 71. The temp differential is much greater and it shows in much higher electricity use in the winter.

My utility emails me a monthly summary saying that I have spent so much on the fridge, so much on laundry, heating, etc. It is all fake, because of course they have no actual idea of what I am spending my electricity on. They can guess based on stats, that's all.

I get these too but only with daily usages and comparison to last year. Yours does sound like guesses.

You might be surprised , if he's got "smart" appliances they may very well be reporting "home" .

I haven't.

And if I get them, I want them to report directly to me, not to the utility.

Get a Kill A Watt meter or two and check out each appliance.

Other than our personal computers - cameras covered and microphones turned off - the only "smart" device we have is a cellphone . One phone , and it stays turned off and sitting on the shelf 95% of the time . Wife was a bit perturbed with me for nixing a smart TV until she read a few reports about their data gathering/reporting capabilities .

A few years ago we bought a "smart" TV because multiple rating organizations raved about the picture quality, it was on sale, and at the time we were shopping, there were no TVs available in the size we needed at a similar or lower price that had 4K resolution and equally high ratings for picture quality. We never use the "smart" features because we have a high quality set-top box that provides faster navigation, much better streaming picture quality, and more streaming channel options that what's built in to the TV. We leave the wifi on the IV turned off and only turn it on about every month or two to see if there are any updates to the TV's firmware which we download and install when available. Then the wifi is switched off again.

Oh, I did. Different gadget, though.

I don't get the point of that. It's not a mystery how much power each appliance uses, it's on the nameplate or on the box or in the manual.

The pamphlet has some incorrect or misleading info, especially the stuff on "phantom power".

It can vary. For example, on a AC/ heat pump, mine tells the maximum power; it is inverter type, so most of the time it is idling and just using 200..300W. And I know it because I measured it.

Similarly, you can measure the usage of a fridge over a month, which is instructive.

Have you done the math? How many hours has your refrigerator actually run? Of course you timed it and know what portion is in your electric bill last month. How long has your microwave run? Nameplate does not tell you that.

Appliances cycle power use, depending on for example temperature, insulation, settings, and the design of the device. Energy consumption for the same device can vary enormously, depending on how it's used.

I moved a freezer from the kitchen to an unheated basement room. Saved about

What math?

A refrigerator's power cycle is at least consistent, and it won't vary from day to day, so you could get a good long term estimate of how much energy it uses.

But having done that, what are you going to do about it? Unplug the fridge when you go to bed?

The killatwatter isn't going to tell you how long your microwave runs either; that varies from day to day. So whether you go by that, or nameplate power consumption, your long term power use is all based on an estimate of usage anyway.

It does vary, depends on room temperature and how many times the door is opened, how long it is kept open, and what stuff is put inside each time.

Nothing, of course. Just measure the actual use. You measure it for a month, or better a year, and that will be definite.