WARNING: Winter is approaching fast
Every month I wait for the energy bills to come in. I like to see how family did during the previous month. Are we saving or wasting energy? Currently our Utilities budget is set up as a sinking fund. The fund has grown quite a bit this summer, thanks to the extra cool weather in Michigan. I would like to apply some of the money toward debt but don’t want to cut it too close. I can take a weekly look at our usage and monitor it with a few simple clicks of a mouse and a camera. If I notice it creeping up, I can make adjustments to our usage to keep the cost down.
First things first: know where you are
I need to know where I’m currently at and how much natural gas I’ve used in the past year. One trip the Consumer’s Energy website to access my account scored me a wonderful graph and table showing the bills.
I can see that winter is my worst time of the year and will have the most opportunity for improvement there. Summer is the worst time for my electric bill. I know everyone already knows this but sometime the obvious needs to be stated.
Here’s how to read and record the data
- Snap a photo of your meter
- Visit Southwest Gas -Meter Applet and use the applet to make the meter look like your picture.
- Record the reading from the screen. 9972
- Calculate the total (you’ll need the previous months bill for the usage rates and charges)
My calulations:
Sept – Aug readings: 9972-9957=15=1.5MCF (mulitple the meter reading by 0.1 to get the correct units.)
1.5 MCF x 2.0819 = $3.123
1.5 MCF x 0.1722 = $0.259
1.5 MCF x 7.358 = $11.037
Gas customer charge of $9.50
Total including 6% sales tax equals $25.35
My total was off slightly because the Gas Recovery charge changes monthly.
Using this method takes about 5 mins. Is it really worth your time to do? Yes, because you can get a quick look at how the family is using natural gas. Plus it can help put a price on turning up the tempurature in the house. If its a little chilly inside you can always grab that Snuggy you bought and never use.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
This type of thing makes me wish i didn’t have a roommate (landlord as well) that pays all the bills and i have to reimburse her. It makes it really tough for me to track, and also change her behavior for cost cutting reasons.
Lee,
Good luck at getting your our place. I was reading your blog the other day and I can see you are on the way to reading those meters again. Thanks for the comment.
You’re right, it sure is enjoyable to watch those energy bills
Jeff
Wow, that’s a helpful article. Bookmarked for when I finally get my own place and get to ‘enjoy’ worrying about all this again
Cheers,
Lee
Brian,
Maybe you can bribe your roomate with a pair of shoes (being a woman and all). Pull the bills out and see how you’ve been using the utility. Water, Gas, and Electricity are all the canidates. Then ask her to make very little changes; turn down the heat by 2 degrees, don’t leave the hair straighten on unless she’s using it, take a 10 ten shower instead of a 20 ten. The little changes DO make a difference, and the monthly savings could buy her a pair of shoes. Not Jimmy Choos but not Kmarts either. Just a thought…
Jeff