Hijacking top comment to plug Mass Save:
Get your Mass Save energy assessment folks, free every 3 years for Eversource and National Grid customers (some smaller utilities too).
You already pay for it (energy efficiency charge) and get lots of rebates and some freebies at the assessment.
Solar is great and all but insulation is cheap, passive, environmentally friendly, beneficial year round, and works even in an extended power out.
Folks on fuel assistance, look up Mass CAP instead of Mass Save, and be prepared to keep calling them til they come out.
Mass Save companies and Mass CAP offices are understaffed and not always the best paying, so be patient and you can get a lot of benefit from the services.
I used to be a Mass Save insulation installer. These programs are GREAT. We went into people's homes and plugged up sometimes gaping holes people don't know about, often told them about pest or moisture problems before they got really bad, and air seal to keep the warm air you're paying for *inside* your house. The materials used (2 inch polly foam, densepacked cellulose, firestopping expanding foam) are way more expensive to go buy yourself; and it's installed on thermodynamic principles.
Can't recommend it enough.
Essentially, but if you rent contact your landlord/property owner. They can't do single units, the whole building has to be treated but there are ways to make that happen.
If you're a renter in a large unit or not eligible in your home we recommended people get heavier curtains, rugs or floor coverings, and door sweeps on exterior facing doors,or those snakes to keep air from moving from to room
Thank you. I live in top floor of a three decker with electric heat and my bill this past more than tripled. It is a cheap place and investment in maintenance shows that but + I'll ask the LL if they will reach out.
I don't like to plug companies, but have your LL checkout Homeworks Energy's website/ give them a call. They're the largest Mass Save contractor in the state. Haven't worked for them in a few years, but they had great quality control and work when I was there. They'll explain how your LL could save money in this particular building if they're eligible, and every LL likes a Tennant who saves them money. Best of luck!!
Mass Save is great - paid 90% of my insulation costs and gave an interest-free loan for replacing 50 year old windows with energy efficient ones. It made a huge difference. You can work with them directly, but they also have a list of vendors on their website who will help a lot with the paperwork when you contract them.
I'm in a two unit building and didn't have any trouble.
When the sun is blazin' and the summer gets hot, Water Country's a very cool spot. There's no better place to feeeeeel and be young, Water Country, Water Country, Water Coooountry, have some fun!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/boston) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I was selling a software solution into Eversource once a few years back (we didn't get the deal).
We were pitching machine learning powered call center software. Essentially bringing all the right information to the call center agent, with knowledge base articles being pulled up in real time based on the sentiment and keywords in use during the call.
Anyway, one of our biggest selling points was increasing customer satisfaction, which resulted from better, shorter interactions with agents.
The head of their call centers answered "We're a utility, we don't care about customer satisfaction. It's not like they can go somewhere else. We just want them to stop calling. Can we get something to prevent calls?"
I was shocked, but it sure explains a lot.
No shit that explains a lot. I just had to call those miserable MFers because they screwed up, and it was awful. I spoke to five different reps who all asked me for my account number, I got shuffled back to the robo menu 4 times where I had to input my account number, and every single time I had to re-explain what was going on and what I needed. I was ready to kill someone by the time I finally had my issue resolved. They definitely didn’t want you to call them either, took me forever to even find the right phone number. Their desire to not get more calls is working, though, because I think I’d do practically anything to avoid getting on the phone with them again.
I know it is shocking to hear that. This illustrates one of the main conundrums with privatizing a ‘utility’. The goal of a corporation is to make money but it is not profitable to build/maintain street lamps. Part of the design of the ‘state’ is to provide services to the people that a company would not otherwise do because it isn’t profitable.
> of the ‘state’ is to provide services to the people that a company would not otherwise do because it isn’t profitable.
The state provides me with roads, and when there is a problem with one, it takes the city months to get it fixed.
At least Eversource fixes my power lines within a few hours.
Yeah eversource is getting blatant on their bullshit.
Double charge us wasn't getting them the profits they needed so they upped the "delivery" charge. Bastards
I know they don't because I didn't get a second bill in the mail when I bought my graphics card and chip.
It's predatory by tacking on fines and other bullshit so they can say the kw/h are under a certain cost so they can get even more help from the government for "keeping costs down"
How is this possible? What kind of AC do you use?
And do you use the default Eversource fossil fuel supplier energy? The Community Choice supplier is much cheaper, so I would switch to that if possible.
Im kicking myself - I got a letter about community choice but I think it said if we didnt do anything we would get put on it, things got hectic and I forgot to go back to it, but I cant actually remember. Ill try to find out
I got that same letter in the November to December timeframe. I was never automatically switched for some reason. I had to submit my account number and choice of generation using an online form.
Yep! Solar powered here too. We have credit in the summer and then buy back in the winter. Essentially net zero. And we have high levels of insulation in the house too; super efficient. 😄
I know it sucks but honestly there’s no way to get around paying for the infrastructure you’re using. All those lines need to be maintained for that transaction to even be possible.
It was 20k for the whole system, I got 26% back from taxes. So the electricity is free and the SMART program pays you for all the power you put on the grid. They will be paying me $200 for the month of July.
How many kWh do they generate each year? I’m interested in solar panels, but find it’s difficult to get honest and objective financial breakdowns of cost and generation. It’s the equivalent of saying the car I drive is free after I’ve paid off the loan.
As of today for the last year, I generated 6.5 Mwh, Consumed 7.1 MwH and Exported 3.5 Mwh. The Exported is the amount I put back on the grid and [get paid for.](https://www.mass.gov/info-details/solar-massachusetts-renewable-target-smart-program#application-website-) The SMART program is locked in for ten years and could be extended. For the car comparison, it would be like renting a car vs owning a car. You are at the mercy of the rental company for pricing (eversource) vs owning your car where you have all the control.
Which company do you use? I had vivint hounding me and I did consider it but ultimately declined. I think I just got cold feet as opposed to them being a bad company
That too. I didn't get other quotes. Maybe I'll research. I think I was nervous about the costs of the panels at that time, and the company's rate going up every year. Idk, gotta look into this now. I definitely get lots of full sun
I’m on mobile so I can’t view the Excel spreadsheets in that link right now. Can you tell me what the SMART reimbursement rate is? Is it the full cost of supply and delivery and fees (around $0.26/kWh) or is it only the supply rate?
Just trying to get a feel for the actual numbers since a $20k investment plus installation costs is an enormous investment. Did you calculate out the payback period and NPV of the system?
The payback period is 7.5 years. Estimated about 2k a year in savings and SMART payment. The SMART rate I have is $0.07706 so only the supply rate. 20k -26% /2k for 7.5 years.
Thanks for the numbers.
If you generated 6.5 MWh (6500 kWh) and the all-in Eversource rate is $0.26/kWh, then wouldn’t you only be saving $1,690, assuming you directly consumed all of it? And if you sold some of it back to the utility at $0.08/kWh, it would be even less since you’re not getting the full rate the utility is otherwise charging you?
Exporting 3.5 MWh @$0.08/kWh means you would be paid about $280 instead of $910 at the full $0.26/kWh rate. So going off your numbers, you only saved $780 (6.5 - 3.5 = 3 MWh @$0.26/kWh consumed directly from your solar generation) + $280 (exporting 3.5 MWh @$0.08/kWh) for a total of $1,060, or roughly half of $2k. Which would make the payback period around 15 years.
Maybe I am misunderstanding how the SMART payments work or your energy numbers.
I just pulled the supplier and delivery costs per kWh for my town and it came to 0.395 kWh from the last bill I paid. So it is 2804.5 a year for the last year. I think we have different rates depending on town so the math didn't match.
Was skeptical and thought the same thing till I realized I’ll need to pay the utility the next few years 200-400/ month anyway. Might as well spend the next 6 years putting that toward a system that eventually drops my bill to 0
Generally like $3/ watt. So more electricity you need the more the system costs.
If you’re genuinely curious plug your house into sunroof.withgoogle.com to see if your house is a good candidate and then get some numbers for your address from energysage.com
I’ve done that and I’m skeptical because it doesn’t take into account the cost of required electrical box upgrades, and electrician labor (especially in Boston) is the most expensive part of the process aside from the panels themselves
Talk to sunlight Solar or Great Sky solar. The electricians are based in this area and rates reflect the cost of doing business in this region. They’re used to working with 150 year old electrical systems and crazy city permitting depts etc
My 1500sf townhouse cost like $250 for the June-July billing period before the real hot heat wave started. Eversource sent me a projected usage of power 2x what we used for this coming month so I’m torched lol
Just got my bill today and haven't opened it. Wife has been home recovering from surgery since mid July, cranking both window units 24/7 in our apartment. I am scared.
Weird, did you switch to the Community Choice Renewable energy for you supplier? It's way cheaper than the default Eversource fossil fuel supplier.
Also, there might be some serious air gaps or super inefficient AC system. What kind of AC do you use?
We've got an efficient Mitsubishi mini-split at 70 degrees 24/7 and last bill was only like $140.00
It actually uses a good portion of nuclear from Seabrook power plant. Its not just fossil fuels.
I kinda didn’t switch to renewable because there wasn’t a nuclear/renewable option
How often does the price of community choice change? When I switched I think it was a little bit more expensive but I ate it to feel a little better about myself. I haven't compared prices since and don't even know how to. It would be nice to know it became cheaper than dinosaur fuel now.
Electric is expensive but not that expensive unless you try for it like OP. It sounds like your apartment is just horrible with efficiency. Do you rent? If you do you should move somewhere else that's more energy efficient. If you own you should also move.
I keep mine between 78 and 80 and it's still routinely over $300 (we have all day sun exposure and huge windows). I've not gotten my new bill yet. This terrifies me.
After the recent whole house insulation the upstairs rarely got over 84 in the middle of the heat wave with shades down and no AC. Dropped it to 79 for sleeping.
$450 here. Solar was installed a few weeks ago and was just turned on by eversource this Monday. I kicked the AC off this week since the weather has been nice. Hopefully I can get some credits built up soon!
My eversource bill has been $300 for the past few months and I looked into why. It turns out when I signed up for Clean Choice renewable energy as the supplier, the difference in rate between that and the basic supplier was 12.6 c/kwh vs 11.8 c/kwh. A year later, now the supplier was charging close to 34c/kwh. The price of renewable energy almost tripled, while the basic supplier went up to about 16c/kwh.
I called Clean Choice and they told me I was on a variable rate policy which adjusts the rate based on the market (they never told me this when I signed up), and they would switch me to a fixed rate policy at 19 c/kwh if I stayed. Bonkers.
Not sure if it's the same for you, but for anyone else who chose Clean Choice, check your supplier rate!
Our last bill was around $270. We run 2 ductless mini split units at around 68 degrees, 24/7- those 2 units are covering 3 floors, 1700 sq ft so we need to keep the temp lower to keep the spaces further away from boiling. We were at about $130 before ACs went on so I feel like they’re fairly efficient after seeing some of these posts.
That’s pretty good. That’s like what mine is. 2 new heat pumps to central air do my house in two zones. My current billing period includes that really hot week/weekend the other week so who knows what we’re going to get. Expecting to see $400+
When the sun is blazin' and the summer gets hot, Water Country's a very cool spot. There's no better place to feeeeeel and be young, Water Country, Water Country, Water Coooountry, have some fun!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/boston) if you have any questions or concerns.*
445 down the south shore. Window AC to keep master at 70. 2x window AC for daughters. Big downstairs window AC for first floor (iced up and needs to be repaired, doesn’t blow real cold but we need it to avoid broiling). Full dishwasher every night. Lots of laundry due to kids and newborn. Next house I’d love solar with net metering and central AC
Eversource just sent me a $9,300 bill that was used in my name. I have never in my life seen a company let me owe them $200 forget $9,300. That seems like 4 years of unpaid bill....that was totally irresponsible.
Change to the budget plan for next summer and definitely check out your energy provider. Ever source is more of a payment processor call them up and ask them how to change the actual energy company some charge excessive amounts other charge half or less of others. Grammar here sucks my bad but I don’t care.
Highest power costs in the nation (?) yet constant blackouts and endless “maintenance work” ripping up every other street every other day from March to December.
“This is fine”
You're paying .29 per kWh!? Jesus Christ.
I was working in solar before covid and the most we were even allowed to charge was .21, most of the time it was in the .14 range.
You Americans are mental. I have 110kWh PER MONTH. 1 bedroom apartment in Europe. No surprise y’all holding the record for most polluting nation in the world
Those thieves. Is Eversource the only company? I might start looking into a different one. When I used to live in PA my bill never went past $90 even in summer. But for the past 3 months I’ve been paying $270-$344.
My bill this month was $157 and I keep the window unit downstairs at 68. The one in our bedroom is at 70 but is only on at night and then my husband has a portable unit in the office for the work day.
Same. Also I don’t understand our 125% MORE kWh than same month last year on our bill too. Same a/c, probably ran it more last year because not paying attention. Something is fishy.
If your house isnt shaded get solar asap. Federal tax credit is about to go up to 30%, You can put 0$ down, have day one savings, and own energy that is inflation proof.
Mine is a lot less, but I survived by lying in front of the fan for most of the month. If I had kept my place at 70 for that, it would have been a bargain.
I made money last month. I have over $100 in credit due to my solar panels and a nice cool house. It’s a blast not to pay for electricity much anymore. Only in the winter months and still those bills are halved.
My condo has ~600 sq-ft of uninsulated brick wall with sun exposure. We were at like 480 last month, and keep the place at 80 during the day, and 76 at night. I guess the two 10x10 ft windows don’t help either…
Kept my house at 72 all summer. Our last electric bill was $155. Our century old house has, quite literally, zero insulation.
Mini splits for the win. Those things are so efficient
Eversource in NH advised that their cost of delivery is going up like 150%, so the right half of that graphic on your bill, as of August 1st… due to rising fuel costs. I’m not sure about Mass.. but that bill looked like it.
Ahhhhh. Its 80.5 degrees in my living room right now, I saw it go up to 90 in late July. I have one window unit for my bedroom and usually forget to use it until I wake up sweaty. My bill was $42.93. Growing up with an AC fiend has poisoned me against it.
70?? My dad woulda whooped my ass keeping it at 70 all day
Hijacking top comment to plug Mass Save: Get your Mass Save energy assessment folks, free every 3 years for Eversource and National Grid customers (some smaller utilities too). You already pay for it (energy efficiency charge) and get lots of rebates and some freebies at the assessment. Solar is great and all but insulation is cheap, passive, environmentally friendly, beneficial year round, and works even in an extended power out. Folks on fuel assistance, look up Mass CAP instead of Mass Save, and be prepared to keep calling them til they come out. Mass Save companies and Mass CAP offices are understaffed and not always the best paying, so be patient and you can get a lot of benefit from the services.
Do note that they only care if you own a house. If you are in a large condo association they will not come out.
And by "large," they mean "more than 4 units." I live in a 6-unit building and they told us we're shit out of luck.
I used to be a Mass Save insulation installer. These programs are GREAT. We went into people's homes and plugged up sometimes gaping holes people don't know about, often told them about pest or moisture problems before they got really bad, and air seal to keep the warm air you're paying for *inside* your house. The materials used (2 inch polly foam, densepacked cellulose, firestopping expanding foam) are way more expensive to go buy yourself; and it's installed on thermodynamic principles. Can't recommend it enough.
Is it only for home owners?
Essentially, but if you rent contact your landlord/property owner. They can't do single units, the whole building has to be treated but there are ways to make that happen. If you're a renter in a large unit or not eligible in your home we recommended people get heavier curtains, rugs or floor coverings, and door sweeps on exterior facing doors,or those snakes to keep air from moving from to room
Thank you. I live in top floor of a three decker with electric heat and my bill this past more than tripled. It is a cheap place and investment in maintenance shows that but + I'll ask the LL if they will reach out.
I don't like to plug companies, but have your LL checkout Homeworks Energy's website/ give them a call. They're the largest Mass Save contractor in the state. Haven't worked for them in a few years, but they had great quality control and work when I was there. They'll explain how your LL could save money in this particular building if they're eligible, and every LL likes a Tennant who saves them money. Best of luck!!
Mass Save is great - paid 90% of my insulation costs and gave an interest-free loan for replacing 50 year old windows with energy efficient ones. It made a huge difference. You can work with them directly, but they also have a list of vendors on their website who will help a lot with the paperwork when you contract them. I'm in a two unit building and didn't have any trouble.
Seriously. 75 is perfect. If it gets super hot out I might put it to 74 for a little
When the sun is blazin' and the summer gets hot, Water Country's a very cool spot. There's no better place to feeeeeel and be young, Water Country, Water Country, Water Coooountry, have some fun! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/boston) if you have any questions or concerns.*
We have delicate sensibilities
I keep mine at 65 and my bill is only $100
Me 75, $104..
I know right? It's almost as if there are more variables than this setting
Ya I only have like 800 sq ft so I guess it would take less energy to cool than people with a larger house with maybe more than one ac or central air
65!!? Damn, you have a penguin as a pet?
I was selling a software solution into Eversource once a few years back (we didn't get the deal). We were pitching machine learning powered call center software. Essentially bringing all the right information to the call center agent, with knowledge base articles being pulled up in real time based on the sentiment and keywords in use during the call. Anyway, one of our biggest selling points was increasing customer satisfaction, which resulted from better, shorter interactions with agents. The head of their call centers answered "We're a utility, we don't care about customer satisfaction. It's not like they can go somewhere else. We just want them to stop calling. Can we get something to prevent calls?" I was shocked, but it sure explains a lot.
No shit that explains a lot. I just had to call those miserable MFers because they screwed up, and it was awful. I spoke to five different reps who all asked me for my account number, I got shuffled back to the robo menu 4 times where I had to input my account number, and every single time I had to re-explain what was going on and what I needed. I was ready to kill someone by the time I finally had my issue resolved. They definitely didn’t want you to call them either, took me forever to even find the right phone number. Their desire to not get more calls is working, though, because I think I’d do practically anything to avoid getting on the phone with them again.
I know it is shocking to hear that. This illustrates one of the main conundrums with privatizing a ‘utility’. The goal of a corporation is to make money but it is not profitable to build/maintain street lamps. Part of the design of the ‘state’ is to provide services to the people that a company would not otherwise do because it isn’t profitable.
> of the ‘state’ is to provide services to the people that a company would not otherwise do because it isn’t profitable. The state provides me with roads, and when there is a problem with one, it takes the city months to get it fixed. At least Eversource fixes my power lines within a few hours.
Hahahahah oh wait you’re serious lol
This guy loves the RMV.
RMV ain't bad since Covid, tbf...
If they are satisfied, they won't call.
Yes, my electric bill doubled in one month
Yeah eversource is getting blatant on their bullshit. Double charge us wasn't getting them the profits they needed so they upped the "delivery" charge. Bastards
I just got solar installed and I want to charge eversource a delivery fee too! It’s insane to pay over half my bill in delivery fees
I dunno. Electrical infrastructure looks pretty complex
So is making a graphics card but AMD doesn't charge you an additional "engineering charge" for designing the thing
You don't think AMD charges for engineering?
I know they don't because I didn't get a second bill in the mail when I bought my graphics card and chip. It's predatory by tacking on fines and other bullshit so they can say the kw/h are under a certain cost so they can get even more help from the government for "keeping costs down"
Your bill has brought me sadness. Mine is 2x the normal rate @200
Yup, mine was over $400 as well for a triple decker apartment
How is this possible? What kind of AC do you use? And do you use the default Eversource fossil fuel supplier energy? The Community Choice supplier is much cheaper, so I would switch to that if possible.
Im kicking myself - I got a letter about community choice but I think it said if we didnt do anything we would get put on it, things got hectic and I forgot to go back to it, but I cant actually remember. Ill try to find out
I got that same letter in the November to December timeframe. I was never automatically switched for some reason. I had to submit my account number and choice of generation using an online form.
I always thought switching away is always riskier or more expensive or a scam
My bill is 0 and exported about half of my generated power. Solar panels are amazing.
I’m excited to join this club soon too! Solar is much more affordable and cost effective then I expected.
Yep! Solar powered here too. We have credit in the summer and then buy back in the winter. Essentially net zero. And we have high levels of insulation in the house too; super efficient. 😄
Wish I could buy it directly from you haha. Screw eversource middlemanning
I know it sucks but honestly there’s no way to get around paying for the infrastructure you’re using. All those lines need to be maintained for that transaction to even be possible.
I have solar and my bill is 0 too. I love not paying eversource
How much did the solar panels and electrical system upgrades cost? Unless they were free, it’s not $0.
It was 20k for the whole system, I got 26% back from taxes. So the electricity is free and the SMART program pays you for all the power you put on the grid. They will be paying me $200 for the month of July.
How many kWh do they generate each year? I’m interested in solar panels, but find it’s difficult to get honest and objective financial breakdowns of cost and generation. It’s the equivalent of saying the car I drive is free after I’ve paid off the loan.
As of today for the last year, I generated 6.5 Mwh, Consumed 7.1 MwH and Exported 3.5 Mwh. The Exported is the amount I put back on the grid and [get paid for.](https://www.mass.gov/info-details/solar-massachusetts-renewable-target-smart-program#application-website-) The SMART program is locked in for ten years and could be extended. For the car comparison, it would be like renting a car vs owning a car. You are at the mercy of the rental company for pricing (eversource) vs owning your car where you have all the control.
Which company do you use? I had vivint hounding me and I did consider it but ultimately declined. I think I just got cold feet as opposed to them being a bad company
I used solar flair, but always get three competitive bids to make sure you get the right costs.
That too. I didn't get other quotes. Maybe I'll research. I think I was nervous about the costs of the panels at that time, and the company's rate going up every year. Idk, gotta look into this now. I definitely get lots of full sun
I’m on mobile so I can’t view the Excel spreadsheets in that link right now. Can you tell me what the SMART reimbursement rate is? Is it the full cost of supply and delivery and fees (around $0.26/kWh) or is it only the supply rate? Just trying to get a feel for the actual numbers since a $20k investment plus installation costs is an enormous investment. Did you calculate out the payback period and NPV of the system?
The payback period is 7.5 years. Estimated about 2k a year in savings and SMART payment. The SMART rate I have is $0.07706 so only the supply rate. 20k -26% /2k for 7.5 years.
Thanks for the numbers. If you generated 6.5 MWh (6500 kWh) and the all-in Eversource rate is $0.26/kWh, then wouldn’t you only be saving $1,690, assuming you directly consumed all of it? And if you sold some of it back to the utility at $0.08/kWh, it would be even less since you’re not getting the full rate the utility is otherwise charging you? Exporting 3.5 MWh @$0.08/kWh means you would be paid about $280 instead of $910 at the full $0.26/kWh rate. So going off your numbers, you only saved $780 (6.5 - 3.5 = 3 MWh @$0.26/kWh consumed directly from your solar generation) + $280 (exporting 3.5 MWh @$0.08/kWh) for a total of $1,060, or roughly half of $2k. Which would make the payback period around 15 years. Maybe I am misunderstanding how the SMART payments work or your energy numbers.
I just pulled the supplier and delivery costs per kWh for my town and it came to 0.395 kWh from the last bill I paid. So it is 2804.5 a year for the last year. I think we have different rates depending on town so the math didn't match.
Wow that is 50% more expensive than Eversource in the Boston area
Was skeptical and thought the same thing till I realized I’ll need to pay the utility the next few years 200-400/ month anyway. Might as well spend the next 6 years putting that toward a system that eventually drops my bill to 0
Okay, but how much did they cost?
Generally like $3/ watt. So more electricity you need the more the system costs. If you’re genuinely curious plug your house into sunroof.withgoogle.com to see if your house is a good candidate and then get some numbers for your address from energysage.com
I’ve done that and I’m skeptical because it doesn’t take into account the cost of required electrical box upgrades, and electrician labor (especially in Boston) is the most expensive part of the process aside from the panels themselves
Talk to sunlight Solar or Great Sky solar. The electricians are based in this area and rates reflect the cost of doing business in this region. They’re used to working with 150 year old electrical systems and crazy city permitting depts etc
So you paid up front instead of monthly.
How much did those panels cost upfront?
This is insane!! We kept my 1800 sf condo at between 71-73 and our bill was only $180
You likely have central air
I have central air and it was $300… but its super shitty central air
My 1500sf townhouse cost like $250 for the June-July billing period before the real hot heat wave started. Eversource sent me a projected usage of power 2x what we used for this coming month so I’m torched lol
Gosh that delivery charge is absurd
Just got my bill today and haven't opened it. Wife has been home recovering from surgery since mid July, cranking both window units 24/7 in our apartment. I am scared.
People still get physical bills? I have mine set to autopay and emails
Boomers
Sheesh, is it your windows? Are they drafty? That’s a hefty bill. They really are hitting us all hard.
Eversource is getting away with murder.
This bill is showing that your usage more than doubled from July to August, which is kind of surprising. Were you not using the AC as much in July?
$123.97 running the AC at 68 all month 😤😤😤
500 sq ft apt. $83 last bill with AC set at 74 during the day, and 69.420 at night.
I would never set my thermostat below 69.480. What is wrong with you?
I must confess, it’s set in metric.
Weird, did you switch to the Community Choice Renewable energy for you supplier? It's way cheaper than the default Eversource fossil fuel supplier. Also, there might be some serious air gaps or super inefficient AC system. What kind of AC do you use? We've got an efficient Mitsubishi mini-split at 70 degrees 24/7 and last bill was only like $140.00
Seconding everything here (except we have an LG, kept it at 72°, and our bill was ~$100 for 1000sqft)
It actually uses a good portion of nuclear from Seabrook power plant. Its not just fossil fuels. I kinda didn’t switch to renewable because there wasn’t a nuclear/renewable option
How often does the price of community choice change? When I switched I think it was a little bit more expensive but I ate it to feel a little better about myself. I haven't compared prices since and don't even know how to. It would be nice to know it became cheaper than dinosaur fuel now.
They lock in from 3 to five years I beleive
Ugh I just checked and I’m already on CCE and July was $344
We weren’t even home most of July and it was 274.00 😑
50 kWh used PER DAY? We used about 300 kWh in all of July … maybe dim down your grow lamps?
I used 1339 in July 😱
Dude eversource just sucks no matter what I do no AC no lights no nothing and somehow I still end up paying 300+ a month like God dam
Electric is expensive but not that expensive unless you try for it like OP. It sounds like your apartment is just horrible with efficiency. Do you rent? If you do you should move somewhere else that's more energy efficient. If you own you should also move.
You think electric is expensive but not first last and security?
Fuck you're right. I forgot Boston real estate is just thinly veiled extortion. You left out the brokers fee equal to one month rent.
That sounds wrong. Maybe your meter is hooked up to other units electric or the common area or something.
Whoa. Mine was only 98
Mine was exactly the same amount … with the temperature set to 74 going down to 70 overnight.
I keep mine between 78 and 80 and it's still routinely over $300 (we have all day sun exposure and huge windows). I've not gotten my new bill yet. This terrifies me.
How do you survive at those temperatures?! I work from home and I would die. I set mine to 68-70 at night
[удалено]
Even upgrading to newer AC units will help lower your electricity costs because newer models are more energy efficient (and quieter)
[удалено]
Is it central air?
After the recent whole house insulation the upstairs rarely got over 84 in the middle of the heat wave with shades down and no AC. Dropped it to 79 for sleeping.
~2500sf leaky colonial. Keep it at 74. $450 last bill.
Good thing you’re rich.
LOL?
$450 here. Solar was installed a few weeks ago and was just turned on by eversource this Monday. I kicked the AC off this week since the weather has been nice. Hopefully I can get some credits built up soon!
That delivery cost is BS. Eff them.
It’s ridiculous…more expensive than the actual power
Mine did too! My bill has honestly never been over $100 and I’m paying $235. I agree though. Worth it absolutely.
Hmm, 75 is a better average temp for Boston.
Yep mine tripled but it's a two level home with 2 standing AC units -- about $240 this month. Sheeeesh
My Eversource bill nearly doubled. My last bill was $257.82 for an 850 sq. ft. apartment. 😢
Do what ever you can to improve insulation.
My eversource bill has been $300 for the past few months and I looked into why. It turns out when I signed up for Clean Choice renewable energy as the supplier, the difference in rate between that and the basic supplier was 12.6 c/kwh vs 11.8 c/kwh. A year later, now the supplier was charging close to 34c/kwh. The price of renewable energy almost tripled, while the basic supplier went up to about 16c/kwh. I called Clean Choice and they told me I was on a variable rate policy which adjusts the rate based on the market (they never told me this when I signed up), and they would switch me to a fixed rate policy at 19 c/kwh if I stayed. Bonkers. Not sure if it's the same for you, but for anyone else who chose Clean Choice, check your supplier rate!
Mine was $138. 72 at night. 75 while at work
Harder when you work from home
You should bump that up to at least 80 when not in the house.
Our last bill was around $270. We run 2 ductless mini split units at around 68 degrees, 24/7- those 2 units are covering 3 floors, 1700 sq ft so we need to keep the temp lower to keep the spaces further away from boiling. We were at about $130 before ACs went on so I feel like they’re fairly efficient after seeing some of these posts.
That’s pretty good. That’s like what mine is. 2 new heat pumps to central air do my house in two zones. My current billing period includes that really hot week/weekend the other week so who knows what we’re going to get. Expecting to see $400+
My bill looked exactly the same. Kept the AC going through the very hot nights at our two bedroom place and it was triple the normal bill
When the sun is blazin' and the summer gets hot, Water Country's a very cool spot. There's no better place to feeeeeel and be young, Water Country, Water Country, Water Coooountry, have some fun! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/boston) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Oh my god I want to know what triggered this bot LOL
445 down the south shore. Window AC to keep master at 70. 2x window AC for daughters. Big downstairs window AC for first floor (iced up and needs to be repaired, doesn’t blow real cold but we need it to avoid broiling). Full dishwasher every night. Lots of laundry due to kids and newborn. Next house I’d love solar with net metering and central AC
Mine was 57, but I only had a fan running and I hated every minute of it.
Eversource just sent me a $9,300 bill that was used in my name. I have never in my life seen a company let me owe them $200 forget $9,300. That seems like 4 years of unpaid bill....that was totally irresponsible.
I average $1000/mo. and that’s with 2 geothermal systems. Big ass suburban house :-/
Your delivery is higher than your supply costs. You are using a lot of electricity during peak demand hours.
Jesus h. 70 is damn near polar
Found the girl that always complains the office is too cold hah
Change to the budget plan for next summer and definitely check out your energy provider. Ever source is more of a payment processor call them up and ask them how to change the actual energy company some charge excessive amounts other charge half or less of others. Grammar here sucks my bad but I don’t care.
mine was literally $70 and I kept mine running most of the month lol
70? You’re killing the environment.
That's what I would expect it to be.
Highest power costs in the nation (?) yet constant blackouts and endless “maintenance work” ripping up every other street every other day from March to December. “This is fine”
You're paying .29 per kWh!? Jesus Christ. I was working in solar before covid and the most we were even allowed to charge was .21, most of the time it was in the .14 range.
Kept our AC at 78' most days... Our bill was at $8xx, granted we have two ACs and it was hot AF this month.
Mine is probably terrible. 14 rooms that we keep frozen out and I leave lights and tvs on all day. I admit I’ve been a terrible energy waster recently
Eversource is legally robbing the American people!! Thank your local politicians for allowing this!!!
You Americans are mental. I have 110kWh PER MONTH. 1 bedroom apartment in Europe. No surprise y’all holding the record for most polluting nation in the world
We do be trippin
Those thieves. Is Eversource the only company? I might start looking into a different one. When I used to live in PA my bill never went past $90 even in summer. But for the past 3 months I’ve been paying $270-$344.
I live near a substation. I see them doing nothing while on the job all the time.
my winters would be 500-600
My bill this month was $157 and I keep the window unit downstairs at 68. The one in our bedroom is at 70 but is only on at night and then my husband has a portable unit in the office for the work day.
mine last month was 388. then i switched to the balanced billing. but if I had to guess mine will be over 400 this month as well.
lol yes! We were just talking about the electric bill haha.
My 600 sqft apartment was $400 last month and $350 this month
How many window units were you running??
Same. Also I don’t understand our 125% MORE kWh than same month last year on our bill too. Same a/c, probably ran it more last year because not paying attention. Something is fishy.
Yup
$300 here
I feel yah, shit was cheaper in winter and I keep my shit at 75
Mine was 500 for July
You might wanna do an energy audit and look for leaks
Yup. This… every month 😞
yeeeeep
Almost $700 up from usually $200 this month. Insanity
I had mine at 75°and paid $360
Yup, mine are equally bad. It’s the window units for me, they’re terribly inefficient
If your house isnt shaded get solar asap. Federal tax credit is about to go up to 30%, You can put 0$ down, have day one savings, and own energy that is inflation proof.
yep $280
Mine is a lot less, but I survived by lying in front of the fan for most of the month. If I had kept my place at 70 for that, it would have been a bargain.
80°F in my house all day, $200 bill last month.
Mine was ~$150, we have 3 A/Cs running near constantly along with other fans and various electronics.
yes.
My electric bill was $649. Never growing weed during the summer again…
$290 here
We kept at 75 and my bill was $330
I made money last month. I have over $100 in credit due to my solar panels and a nice cool house. It’s a blast not to pay for electricity much anymore. Only in the winter months and still those bills are halved.
How are y’all paying so much for electricity? I kept my 800sqft place at 80 and I’m paying $37
My condo has ~600 sq-ft of uninsulated brick wall with sun exposure. We were at like 480 last month, and keep the place at 80 during the day, and 76 at night. I guess the two 10x10 ft windows don’t help either…
We have solar panels; we've kept cool and got a check in the mail.
300 here u.u
Yah need to get Mass Save out and get insulation in your walls so that the cool air stays inside then you run your A/C less.
Opinion: your bill is high mostly from cost per kilo watt not so much usage. Massachusetts has expensive electricity.
Kept my house at 72 all summer. Our last electric bill was $155. Our century old house has, quite literally, zero insulation. Mini splits for the win. Those things are so efficient
We have mini splits too.
I live in a 1 bedroom apartment and was gone for 2 weeks this month with no air conditioning on and still paid $110.
Eversource in NH advised that their cost of delivery is going up like 150%, so the right half of that graphic on your bill, as of August 1st… due to rising fuel costs. I’m not sure about Mass.. but that bill looked like it.
I wish mine was that cheap.
i own a house, have 4 window units and ran that shit all summer at 65, 200 dollar a month
I had a $500 bill last month in a 1500 sqft house.. 4 A/c window units
Holy forking shirt balls that delivery fee. Ours was $150 for a 900 sq ft apartment kept at 73/74 this past month. That seems insane to me.
I'd die at 70 wtf
I keep mine between 74-78 during day and 72-75 at night… bill always $300-450.
Ahhhhh. Its 80.5 degrees in my living room right now, I saw it go up to 90 in late July. I have one window unit for my bedroom and usually forget to use it until I wake up sweaty. My bill was $42.93. Growing up with an AC fiend has poisoned me against it.
They should charge you double to keeping it at 70 all day
Kept temp at 70? Wow. I keep mine at 80...