# Average Monthly Gas Bill



## Queen_Dopplepopolis (May 14, 2005)

Husband and I are looking into new apartments, at current we have two choices:

#1) 2 Bedroom with no utilities included.

#2) 2 Bedroom with gas included.

#1 is about $100 less/month than #2.  As such, we're trying to figure out what we should expect our monthly gas be to be?  Our utilities are included in our current apartment, so we really have no clue what to expect our gas bill to be.


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## Mystery Man (May 14, 2005)

Depends on the square footage, and how well insulated the apartment is. Are you on the top, middle or bottom floor?


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## ssampier (May 14, 2005)

It also depends on whether the water heater is electric or gas and more importantly what climate you live in, whether you live in warm Florida or very coooold Minnesota.

I live in Utah and our monthly gas bill in the Winter is roughly $50 or so (our winters are fairly mild, but cold). But I know people that spend $100 or more a month for a family a month so your results may vary.

I think the main indicator is what type of person you are. I'm a person that likes it a little colder in the house in the winter and a little warmer in the summer (to match the outside temperature), as such I don't spend as much on utilities as others.

If you're like me and can tolerate the heat a little lower than normal (68 in the Winter), you may save more money paying your own utility bills. If you are like my old roomates that require sub-zero degrees in the summer and sauna temperatures in the Winter, you'd save more with utilities paid.


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## Lhorgrim (May 14, 2005)

You may be able to get an average gas bill amount in the general area by checking with the local utility office.  In my area they keep some stats for use by realtors.


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## IronWolf (May 14, 2005)

In fact you could probably call the gas company and ask for the average bill of the apartment you are looking at specifically.  I know we did this with the electric company once for an apartment we were looking at once.


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## der_kluge (May 14, 2005)

Expect it to be about $2 for the summer months. That's enough to keep the pilot light on.  I know gas prices have steadily increased. In Kansas City, some people gas bills were like $1000 for brutal winter months. It caused quite a problem for poor elderly people.

I wouldn't expect a small apartment to generate a massively large gas bill.


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## DaveStebbins (May 14, 2005)

My two-bedroom apartment is all-electric and runs from about $60 per month in the summer to $120 per month in the winter. This is right next to Lake Erie and includes all appliances, water heater, heating and air conditioning running on electric. However, like ssampier, I keep things warmer in the summer and cooler in the winter. Also no one is home all day and I only have one person running the appliances and taking showers, etc. The only thing I don't currently have is a washer and dryer. I'm going to the laundromat weekly and saving up, but trips this summer (including GenCon) will delay me until fall getting those. On the other hand, that is my total utility bill, as the apartment complex doesn't even have any gas lines.

I would expect your expenses to be a little more even (more A/C in summer, less heat in winter) and generally a little higher with more people in the apartment.

-Dave


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## Storminator (May 15, 2005)

I have gas everything, and I average my bills out over the year.

$83 per month, and I'm in New England with a 3 bedroom, 2 story house with 3 people.

PS


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## tarchon (May 15, 2005)

$100/mo. gas bill would be unusually high for an apartment even in a hard winter month, unless it's like 4 bdr 2000 sq ft or something like that. It shouldn't come even close to that averaged out over the whole year in a fairly mild climate like the DC area. In northern Indiana, I think my 2 BDR usually ran from $20-$40/mo. The house would break $100 sometimes when it was cold.


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## Eolin (May 15, 2005)

If its relatively close, my advice is to go with the all bills paid.

The convenience is extreme. Also, being able to run lights and heat without worrying about the upciming bill is very nice.


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## stevelabny (May 16, 2005)

um, it really depends if your paying to HEAT your own place.
at least here in nyc, many apts have to pay their own gas...for their stove. not for their heat. my tenant has about a $10 a month gas bill. give or take.

while i get the monstrosity to heat the entire house.


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## Thornir Alekeg (May 16, 2005)

My 2 cents:

_ Go with the utilities included apartment. _ The reason?  The Landlord has the incentive to keep the place well insulated so he does not pay an arm and a leg in heat if the winter is harsh.  

My wife and I saved money one year by getting an apartment with no utilities included.  Granted it was in NH where the winters are a little colder than DC, but that year we had multiple nights with temps below zero.  The place had drafty windows, virtually no insulation in the basement.  The furnace ran constantly and it still could not keep the place warm.  No lie, we could freeze water on the kitchen floor.  Our gas bill was in excess of $350 for two months of the year.  

You might come out a bit ahead with the cheaper apartment paying for utilities, but you may find you will pay in other ways.


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## Queen_Dopplepopolis (May 16, 2005)

Eolin said:
			
		

> If its relatively close, my advice is to go with the all bills paid.
> 
> The convenience is extreme. Also, being able to run lights and heat without worrying about the upciming bill is very nice.



 Our current apartment includes all utilities.  Really *wish* we could find one that had all included in the new area, but have not stumbled onto one, yet.

The only utility that is included with either of the apartments is gas (heating and stove). 

And, as we're learning with our current apartment, if utilities are included, they have absolutely no incentive to turn on the AC until the temp is well into the 80's.  ((but that's a whole 'nother thread ))


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## Thornir Alekeg (May 16, 2005)

*In that case...*



			
				Queen_Dopplepopolis said:
			
		

> Our current apartment includes all utilities.  Really *wish* we could find one that had all included in the new area, but have not stumbled onto one, yet.
> 
> The only utility that is included with either of the apartments is gas (heating and stove).
> 
> And, as we're learning with our current apartment, if utilities are included, they have absolutely no incentive to turn on the AC until the temp is well into the 80's.  ((but that's a whole 'nother thread ))




Well, if that $100/month difference is only for gas, I would probably go with the less expensive apartment - as long as it appeared the place didn't have really drafty windows etc. so that the bill would be reasonable (contacting the gas company for an average monthly bill is a good idea, but you have no idea if prior tenants ran the heat at 60 degrees or 70 degrees so your milage may vary).  My home here in Massachusetts (1600 sq. feet) runs around $100 per month (maybe a little higher) for gas when you average it out.  During the heating season, we keep the place at 70 when home and awake, 65 at night and 62 while at work.  

And if we can get the weather to warm up, maybe I can turn the heat off...of course we'll probably go straight to 90s and I'll have the AC running constantly, but as you said, that's another thread.


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## Vraille Darkfang (May 16, 2005)

One,

Check what runs what.  Natural gas can be used for Heating, Cooking, Water Heater, even Clothes Dryer.  The more Nat Gas appliances/utlities you have the higher the bill (most gas appliances CAN BE more efficient than their electric counerparts, not ALL though).  Thus check the age/brand of those appliances, you can then look them up & see the stated efficency.

Check the windows.  Single pane glass ups the heating bill.  If you find out, get the Insulation values used in the walls.

Apartments are tricky.  Most of the ones I lived in (even all utlities), were made as cheaply as possible & did nothing to try to increase effenciy.  

Good luck.


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## tarchon (May 16, 2005)

Thornir Alekeg said:
			
		

> My wife and I saved money one year by getting an apartment with no utilities included.  Granted it was in NH where the winters are a little colder than DC, but that year we had multiple nights with temps below zero.  The place had drafty windows, virtually no insulation in the basement.  The furnace ran constantly and it still could not keep the place warm.  No lie, we could freeze water on the kitchen floor.  Our gas bill was in excess of $350 for two months of the year.



Was the fan on the furnace running? Oftentimes, a broken fan causes those sorts of symptoms. Since the hot air never gets distributed to rooms, it never gets to the thermostat, the furnace just keeps running and running, and the house just stays cold (except for the furnace closet, which is nice and toasty). It's also sometimes caused by an extremely clogged filter - I've seen that a lot. Basement insulation is almost completely irrelevant to heating a house in most cases, because warm air rises and the surrounding earth tends to regulate the temperature pretty effectively, which is why people often don't bother insulating a basement.


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## Thornir Alekeg (May 17, 2005)

tarchon said:
			
		

> Was the fan on the furnace running? Oftentimes, a broken fan causes those sorts of symptoms. Since the hot air never gets distributed to rooms, it never gets to the thermostat, the furnace just keeps running and running, and the house just stays cold (except for the furnace closet, which is nice and toasty). It's also sometimes caused by an extremely clogged filter - I've seen that a lot. Basement insulation is almost completely irrelevant to heating a house in most cases, because warm air rises and the surrounding earth tends to regulate the temperature pretty effectively, which is why people often don't bother insulating a basement.




No the fan ran, it just blew luke-warm air.  The filter may have been clogged, it was my first experience with forced hot air (grew up with forced hot water baseboards), so I really  didn't know what to look for.  As for the basement, since you could see through a few holes in the stone foundation, I doubt the insulating properties of the earth were worth very much.  It was so cold down there that I think the warm air in the ducts lost a lot of heat before hitting our apartment.  It was an old, run down home and the landlord had no interest in puting anything into fixing it up.  I learned a lot about what to look for in an apartment from that place.


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