Utility Warehouse & Electricity Bills

We have a townhouse, (2 floors of living space and a basement) in NYC and use only window a/c. Would a dehumidifier help? I know that reducing the humidity will help the air feel cooler, but will the cost of running the unit outweigh the benefits?

very good question..the thing i would think would help you in deciding this is that if you use the dehumidifier… the air conditioner will not have to run near as much to cool your home because the dehumidifier lowered the humidity and made it easier for your ac to cool your townhouse….so there might not be much difference in your utility billl because each unit helps the other to work better…also make sure it has a humidastat on it…what this does is sense the amount of moisture in the air and you can adjust it to run more or to run less

Because our electricity is by the unit I only put the immersion on in the evening for showers, Will it be cheeper per day if I leave it on all day? My firends say it takes more energy to heat from cold that top up as required when its on all day?

It will be cheaper to heat up what you need, when you need it, if it is left on 24 hours you have the convenience of having hot water on demand, but energy is wasted simply because of heat losses which you will get to varying degrees depending on levels of insulation.

Think of it like a kettle, if you are out all day, and only have a cup of coffee when you come home at night, which is going to be cheaper?

A) boiling a cupful of water when you come in.

or

B) trying to keep the kettle boiling all day so it is ready for your cuppa when you need it.

Answers on a postcard!

i am assuming you have an old refrigerator == if so you will see no increase if anything the new old will use less electricity!!!

coal, natural gas, or biosmass fuel?

coal is much cheaper than natural gas but im not too sure about the costs of biomass fuel.

thnx

Naresh is correct in pointing out that water is the cheapest "fuel" consumed to generate electricity but not necessarily correct in stating that this provides the cheapest power. Hydro plants are often very expensive to build.

Anyhow your question is confined to coal, gas and biomass. As you point out thermal coal will normally be cheapest although not for example in Saudi Arabia. In most locations gas is the most expensive but it can be used in combined cycle plants which are near to twice as efficient as the steam plants using coal.

Biomass is more difficult to assess as there are very many types which throw up a wide spectrum of problems. Essentially it should of course be cheaper but sellers know the value of what they have. Some types for example cause problems (and extra maintenance) in boilers and can perhaps only be used together with a large fraction of coal. Then there are quality problems with stones, sand, water content and so on. Difficult to make a single blanket cost statement that would be accurate.

for electric energy, my friend says to use the total amount of $ billed and multiply by this .990777 number to get kilowatt hours. is that correct or do you just look at the kwh billed?

You should look only to the number of kwh billed not even at the$ because there may be different prices as you consume more or less kwh
1kwh=3.6*10^6 Joules

I’m on economy 7 and im with eon. were can i get cheaper electricity? if you could list websites as well that would be great!:D Thankies…

(most use full =10 points!!)

EDF Energy.

I have paid them, maybe not within 30 days, but they are paid and in full as of now. I am so worried this will affect my credit. I have received disconnection notices, but was never disconnected. The most I might of gone was 45 days. I am so worried. I was in between jobs and can now get caught up on everything. Will someone give me some good news?

Yes, most energy companies report, even if it is only late. When getting approved for a real estate loan, one of the main credit lines for 1st time home buyers is the utility company. But there is good news. Every month that goes by that you pay on time, your score will heal a little. Make it a point to pay on time, within 6-12 months, you will see a big change in your reported score. After a certain period of time, you can even request that they remove or improve your score. Give them a call, talk with their customer service rep, follow their guidelines and you will be back in shape in no time. There are even some companies that will work with you to clean up your scores, for a fee of course. But it is worth it if you need the scores to be higher.

yes if utility power is not available
like in remote area…

otherwise, utility power is much more economical

Guru

I had this same problem last year, where my electricity usage stays the same, but then around this time of year the bill doubles.

Electric consumption is higher during august-september months due to hotter days. Fuel costs also affects your consumption rate making your bill higher. Expect lower bills during next months.

No, it is the most expensive way of paying for gas and electricity.