Forum: money.stackexchange.com
Tags: <united-states><budget><household><utilities>
Title: How do I budget for heating & cooling?
Question: I'm revisiting my budget and the amount I have slated for electricity was off by roughly 30 dollars or 50 percent. I live in an all electric apartment, no gas or fireplace. Here in Kansas we get cold winters and hot summers, but I've always had a hard time estimating the kwh and total cost.  Given that my utility company doesn't publish historical usage rates from past occupants, is there any hope of building an accurate budget?

Answers:
sents: text: There are certain companies that will let you pay a flat fee per month instead of billing you for consumption.
text: You should call your providers and ask them if they have such an option available; this way budgeting will be easy. :)
answer_details: author: money.stackexchange.com/users/2512/Esteban Araya
score: 5
sents: text: If you are just starting out, my tactic would be to go way high and then consider any different play money.
text: So guess $90 and when it comes in at $60, buy a new shirt or go on a date.
answer_details: author: money.stackexchange.com/users/91/MrChrister
score: 4
sents: text: Even if they did publish historical usage rates, those numbers might not be relevant.
text: The previous resident may have been an energy hog who left appliances on 24x7, or a luddite who sweated out the summers rather than turning on the A/C. Beyond that, I've lived in Kansas my whole life, and have never found a good method for estimating utility costs.
text: The best I've been able to do is track expenses month by month to get an average.
text: But one year we have a mild winter, then the next we'll have a week of sub-freezing temperatures, and the estimates from the previous year are worthless.
answer_details: author: money.stackexchange.com/users/2448/Bruce Alderman
score: 3
sents: text: Hmmm.
text: I hadn't considered that energy usage would be considered confidential.
text: How about asking a nearby neighbor to share their next bill.
text: If it's higher or lower than yours, just scale the history up or down accordingly.
text: Other than that, the utility company might offer its own level billing plan where they handle the estimate and offer you the same payment each month.
answer_details: author: money.stackexchange.com/users/187/JTP - Apologise to Monica
score: 2
sents: text: Here in Upstate NY, in a house with no air conditioning, my peak winter electric/gas bill is roughly 3x a summer bill more typically, it's about double.
text: A typical bill outside of heating season is $125.
text: We basically set aside $200/mo for electric & gas, and keep the balance in a separate account at ING Direct (We like ING, as you can easily create and name accounts for specific purposes).
text: We own a house, so usually we rebalance the account in September when the school taxes arrive.
answer_details: author: money.stackexchange.com/users/1288/duffbeer703
score: 2

Summary of the answers:
You could track your expenses month by month and get an average. You could also ask the utility company to handle the estimate and offer you the same payment each month.
If you're just starting to make your budget, you could set your budget very high and then adjust it as the months go on. You could also ask a neighbour to share their bill with you to give you a rough idea. Additionally, some utility companies may be able to help you estimate your usage.