The AC was all installed brand new about two months ago. To the tune
of about $4500, 12 sear etc. My landlords tend to get a bit fussy when
I mention problems so I had to do all of the shopping for the AC
myself. They know at some point they will have to sell the house and
no one will buy it if it needs a new AC unit etc. When I say it stays
cold in the house set at 80-82 I mean cold, kids wearing sweats and
runny noses. My mom and best friend keep theirs at 72-74 and its
comfortable if not warm in their houses.

My brother is in Colorado, so I called him to ask what he thought. The
house was built in the 50s, since it was built there have been 2 rooms
with electric, a laundry room with electric and an AC unit added (all
in the 70s). The breaker box has not been updated, his though was that
we are pulling more power than the main is "used" to and its working
harder. The fridge coils have been cleaned, but it is an old fridge so
is the stove. These are items I have addressed and landlord is not
willing to replace, because they do work and he doesn't seem to think
that a $500 electric bill is anything I should worry about. If I can
pinpoint the problem I can get it fixed and deduct it from the rent,
but they will not take the iniative to determine the problem.

And my mention to the bill being what my rent is, my rent is
$1100/month, after this month, my electric bill is about the same. I
moved here from CT Im aware of the cost of living up there.

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
"Kravynn" wrote in message
oups.com...
I finally convinced my
landlord to get a new AC unit. I was anxious to see my "new" electric
bill, only to be devastated when it came in at $465! I started turning
off my water heater during the day, desperate to save money. I keep
the AC set at about 80-82, and it stays pretty cold in the house. This
leads me to believe that the thermostat may not be working properly.

I have to wonder if the AC is sized properly. If it is set to 80, it shold
be 80. Take a reading with a regular thermometer and see what it reads. Of
course, 80 degrees, properly de-humidified, wil feel much colder th an what
you are used to. Only way to tell for s ure is to take actual readings of
temperatures since one person's hot is another person's cold.


At
any rate, another month has passed and this bill came in at right
around $400.

My brother is an electrician, he said I probably need to
have the breaker box updated, to much power running off a 150 amp main.
I know that there have been 2 rooms and an AC unit added to the house

Your brother does not seem to know much about electricity. Did he do a load
calculation or take readings with an Amprobe? The meter reads the amount
of energy passing through the wires. It does not give a damn about hte size
of the box and number or size of breakers inside of it. Undersized can
cause problems, but not high bills.


since it was built. I would appreciate any suggestions, ideas,
input....My electric bill is more than my rent at this point. I'm a
single mom and I'm in a state of panic.

Use less AC as a start. That has to be the biggest culprit. Do you know
what sized the unit is? How much current the compressor takes? That will
give you an idea of the cost of running it for an hour with a simple
calculation. Keep setting the thermostat higher u ntil you get to the stage
of dis-comfort, regardless of w hat the numbers on hte setting are.

If the $450 electric bill is more than your rent, do not move to New
England. Small house would be $1000 or more.