If you are considering moving to the Phoenix area, even as a part-time winter visitor, you may wonder about the cost of electricity and other utilities. After all, it is very hot for several months out of the year. People may wonder if cooling their home is more expensive than heating it during the Northeast winter.
The sheer number of variables associated with the costs of public services makes generalization impossible. Even if you had the exact square footage in your home like someone else in the area does, your bills may not be comparable. However, keep in mind that some of the variables that come into play include how your home is built and who lives there.
How Electric Bills Vary
These variables will affect your utility bills. If you are cost conscious, buying a home in the Phoenix area will require considerable research and foresight. The variables to consider are:
- Location of the house
- House size
- Home Type: Single Family, Single Family, Townhouse, Apartment / Condo / Loft, Multi Family, Manufactured Home, Mobile Home
- Household age
- Type of construction
- Insulation type
- Roof type
- Number of rooms and their size.
- Exposure (amount of afternoon sun)
- Use of ceiling fans.
- Types of window treatments
- Number of people and ages of people living in the house.
- Number of pets in the house in summer.
- Presence of central air conditioning.
- Number of air conditioning units
- Presence of evaporative cooling
- Presence of A / C window units
- Age of the air conditioning or heat pump.
- Type and size of the water heater.
- Presence of an attic
- Presence of a basement.
- Presence of a pool and / or spa
- Pool motor size and how often it runs
- Thermostat settings
- The degree to which the occupants of the house conserve energy
Now that you see how difficult it is to estimate what someone’s electric bills will be when they move to the Phoenix metropolitan area, if you still want just a ballpark figure, just a number that you know won’t represent reality, but it will give you some baseline. Take a look at the information provided by the Salt River Project, one of our main energy providers in the area. They have a tool that you can use to find out what some of the average electricity bills are for different lifestyles.
It’s called the Home Energy Manager. Here you can enter data about the home and how it uses energy, and get an estimated average annual cost.
They also have information on solar energy for your home, which is becoming very popular in the valley.
Tenants and utility bills
The word ‘utility’ means different things to different people. Make sure you get a clear understanding of which services are included in the rent and which are not. Typically the services you should look at are your electric bill, gas or propane bill, water / sewer bill, and garbage pickup.
Equalizer and Uptime Plans
Depending on which company you have as your electricity supplier, you can take advantage of some programs that help manage your utility bills. The Time of Use or Time Advantage programs allow people who can switch much of their electricity usage to off-peak hours to save money and energy. Equalization plans allow people who have established an energy consumption pattern to match their payments for the year so there aren’t as many high bills in the summer, making it easier to budget for monthly expenses.
A word about electricity vs. gas
Some people like to have gas in their homes for heating, cooking, the water heater, the fireplace, and even the barbecue. Some people prefer to have a fully electric home. Energy experts will say that, in general, there is no appreciable difference in cost between an all-electric home and a dual-energy home when service charges and miscellaneous charges are included. It is just a matter of preference.
Ten ways to save electricity in your home
Energy costs are so high that in summer homeowners have to do their best to save. And in Arizona, they have a lot of summer. Here are some of the simplest things you can do to reduce heat-producing activities in your home or apartment during the summer. There is no investment involved, there is no construction, there are no appliances to buy. Just common sense.
- Don’t use the oven. Use a microwave oven or use a barbecue grill.
- Use a slow cooker to prepare one-plate meals without adding heat to the house.
- Put lids on pans to keep warm while cooking.
- Most water heaters have thermostats that can be set to 140 degrees for hot water. This is generally not necessary: lower the thermostat to 120 or 115.
- You’ve probably heard that taking a bath uses less water than a shower. That may be true, but if you take a short shower, say about 5 minutes, you will only use a third of the amount of hot water that you would in a bath.
- Do not use the drying function in your dishwasher. Let the dishes air dry.
- Wash only full loads of dishes and clothing. Dry your clothes in hangars or outside.
- Try to iron at the same time to avoid having to heat the iron multiple times.
- Do “wet” chores early in the morning or at night when it’s colder. This will help keep the humidity down. This includes washing clothes or dishes, mopping floors, watering indoor plants, etc.
- Turn off computers, printers, copiers, and household electronics when not in use. Surge protectors that allow you to connect multiple items on one strip with an on / off switch make it even easier.
