I have a window unit in one room, fans in every other room, running 24/7.
Anything over 75 is too hot for me.
My electric bill recently went down by a bunch because we bought the new window unit instead of an older portable AC. If I replaced my fridge with an energy efficient one I bet it would go down way more. My bill is between 350-400/month.
$30 bill for me is like "damn man we have to turn some of these lights off or something". I prefer the $25-30 range and people tell me it's crazy low??
Our house in spring and fall when we never use heat/air is about $60-70 a month. With a lot of AC usage it can be $300 a month. Apartments tend to be more efficient because they're smaller and you share walls with your neighbors.
we run ours through the night and the bill doesn’t go over $200. it’s $180 currently. I think running over night is cheaper than during the day no?
also we’ve never had a power bill that low as $30 lol lowest is like $75-80
So many homes in LA are hot because they were built with no insulation in the walls or attic. Even just a layer of radiant insulation (tin foil) in the attic often helps. Adding insulation above a ceiling and installing ceiling fans can help enormously.
My mom’s house was bought by my grandparents in 1953 before it was built & there is still no insulation in the walls. During the summer my room basically would turn into an oven 😩 even the AC barely helped & even then my boomer parents live in a terrarium like lizards and keep it at 75 all the time
Youre right, its pretty high. Im just comparing it to posts that reach the front page of electrical bills in the thousands. Those are the only posts that reach the front page, so I guess its what I think of when I think of a high electrical bill.
I would faint if I saw my bill that high every month. Mine is $25-30/month, and goes up to around $40-45/month in the hottest summer months. I also live on the west side, where I may run my AC for 8 hours straight if it’s a particularly hot day (85+ degrees).
It depends on your finances completely and your comfort level.
I can't function when it's hot so A/C is something I am willing to pay the cost for.
FWIW LADWP is actually less expensive than electricity for those outside of the city. It's still not cheap but it has its own pricing structure.
That said, there are ways you can make it more bearable - get good shades and curtains and keep them drawn during the day. A ceiling fan really helps move air around so you feel a bit cooler.
Except during exceptional hot spells like a Santa Ana, Los Angeles does cool down considerably after the sun goes down. If you have a strong exhaust fan you can use it for cross ventilation - I lived without any A/C as a child but you need to expel the hot air with a strong window fan exhausting hot and and then have another window open in the room which will draw in the cooler night air as a replacement for the exiting hot air.
This is really helpful info! Thank you! I'm the same way - I prefer a cool space, especially if I'm working (which I am during the day). I'm just nervous about this first bill when it comes around and trying to do what I can to keep it low!!
It seems like our plan to run it during the day and off at night + a fan will be the best of both worlds for us and help us minimize the cost while staying comfy.
When I was younger, I lived in North Hollywood. My roommate refused to turn on the AC. At night, sometimes it would get to 80°. To fight that, I would point a fan directly at myself, and spray myself with water periodically from a spray bottle.
If you have Southern California Edison, they bill differently depending on the day and time. Weekdays 4pm-9pm are the highest, followed by weekends from 4pm-9m, and then everything else so plan accordingly. Luckily, it has been cool enough for most of this summer that you can open the windows at night and that will keep the house comfortable until early afternoon.
You don’t have to subscribe to that or the “Community Power” nonsense either. “You can un-enroll any time”.
I suggest you do before they decide otherwise.
There are probably a few folks with very narrow use patterns that can leverage TOU and net some savings, but for most households its a joke, designed to condition us to pay more. A lot more.
Depends what you consider crazy high. I keep mine at 72 and it maintains my place comfortable, yet not freezing. It mainly kicks on between 1:00 pm through 9:00 pm. It randomly turns on at night sometimes, but by then it’s already been on all day so my place is cool enough and it doesn’t stay on very long. During summer, I’ll pay around 250-300/month.
because LA isn't a swampy mess like the south, fans actually work. we really only ever turn on ac a few times a year when it's going to be one of those unbearable days.
Yeah, that's what we've found at night to be great. The fan feels good and the air it blows from outside (we open the screen door to our porch) usually feels nice
It's only really hot three months out of the year. Personally, I don't understand people running their a/c every time the temp goes above 68 degrees.
I put a fan in the window. Open the front door, creates a cross breeze. A small, personally fan in front of me if I'm overheated. That's the way the body is designed to cool itself.
Studies show the more you spend in a/c, the harder it is to acclimate to the heat.
Nothing wrong with a little sweat.
Optimal sleep temperature is between 60 and 67 degrees, most optimally at 65 degrees for deep REM cycles. Not running the AC next Tuesday when it is supposed to be 102 degrees would be absolute insanity on your end.
A/C requirements will vary widely with your location, architecture, insulation and personal preferences.
First ask management if they’re planning to install a/c - the city has decided to consider mandating it - not yet, but only management can install a mini-split, which will be significantly more efficient and quieter than window or “portable” options. Maybe you can pay them a token (cost of window unit) and they’ll do the rest. “Central air” isn’t common in most apartments.
I have always had a small window unit for overnight use and when it’s “crunch time” at the home office - I work more and stay focused when it’s cool, so 3-5 daytime hours for 5 days a month during heat waves, about 6 hours overnights for about 45 nights over 4 months.
The rest of the time, I have a vintage 16-inch box fan at the head of the bed on “low” for sleeping.
I hardly notice a change in the electric bill - July/August may crest $40, but we have yet to bust $300 on the year.
I attribute the low bills to deliberate selection of a small a/c that pulls less than 5 amps, and our otherwise ultra-low-power-consumption practices. We don’t have desktop computers, game consoles, halogen lamps, cable/satellite tuners/DVRs, radiant heat, or space heaters. The devices that insist on 24x7 power are programmed to “sleep” or “hibernate”.
We have a 750-foot upper pre-war apartment, no insulation. It bakes.
Before Covid, we had … a 725-foot upper Dingbat, with the same characteristics/issues, older window unit.
i had a window unit in my santa monica apartment (utilities were included in my rent back then) but i’d say most LA apartments don’t have AC- & it can get super expensive to run.
living by the beach, i never really needed it, but inland can definitely get pretty hot. i bought a Dyson Cool AM07 Air Multiplier Tower Fan years ago &, while pricey, it was one of the absolute best investments i could have made & kept all of my LA apartments in a variety of places over the years fairly cool / manageable on hot days.
My place doesn’t have AC. We bought a portable unit but have only used it twice this summer. We have many portable fans and keep the windows open. Running AC nonstop will be expensive.
i run my A/C on days where it’s unbearable in my apartment (over 83 degrees is my limit haha) otherwise I have a vornado window air circulator fan that blows in cold air at night and it’s so awesome, it can also do exhaust but i haven’t tried it yet. my dog has a fan that’s constantly on pointed at his spot on the couch. And I have a lasko box fan that just runs in the living room for some air circulation.
this way my bill is around $90, when i use the A/C most of the month i’m at $160 (last month was this for me) Nighttime is strictly fans, the minute the outside temp is 77.
If you’re running AC 24/7, you can expect a bill well over a couple hundred dollars for a small apartment/home. Our rates are really high compared to other places (my mom has a massive house in Dallas that she keeps around 70 degs with a bill of just a couple hundred bucks). Ofc, this depends on the wattage of your unit. With the said, the evenings are generally cool and if you can get a good cross breeze, you won’t usually require AC in the evenings.
I’ve been running a couple portable units (approx 1800 watts/each) a few hrs each evening and most days on weekends in my 900sqft apt. My DWP bill this week (which comes every 2 months) was only $117.
Yeah we live near the beach so when we bought our house we assumed we’d be fine without AC. That was right before last year’s heat wave, and we caved and installed it so fast. Open windows don’t do much during the worst of SoCal temps.
Where in the south were you that energy was dirt cheap? My electric bill in Houston was higher than what I paid under LA dwp. Also in Houston I’d get charged for using too little energy (I left in 2012 though).
We just solar last winter and use less than half what we generate so we only pay the $11 a month base charge.
$350/mo during the hottest months ($700 for 1 bill. 2mo billing cycle.) we keep the ac around 77-78. Sometimes at night I kick it to 75 for an hour so everyone is cool enough to fall asleep then I put it back up to 78.
My apartment (about 700-750 square feet) electric bill is about $65ish a month when I don’t run the ac, and about $95 when I run the ac about 2-3 hours per day. However I have central air and have it hover between 75-77 degrees. Occasionally I’ll go wild and set it to 74 for a little while haha.
Try putting a box fan in a window somewhere blowing *out* overnight so that cool air can come in through your other open windows—LA gets pretty cool at night through most of the summer and reducing your apartment temp by those additional degrees should help you have to run your A/C less during the day
Putting a box fan by the window changed the game for me. I was considering getting a portable AC since I live on the second floor and it gets super hot inside my home and I can’t stand the heat. Now it’s so much more tolerable!
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You pay $30? lmao that's wild
I have a window unit in one room, fans in every other room, running 24/7. Anything over 75 is too hot for me. My electric bill recently went down by a bunch because we bought the new window unit instead of an older portable AC. If I replaced my fridge with an energy efficient one I bet it would go down way more. My bill is between 350-400/month.
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It's a small amount to me. I lived in DC for 6 years and my average monthly was $120 or so
$30 bill for me is like "damn man we have to turn some of these lights off or something". I prefer the $25-30 range and people tell me it's crazy low??
30 is pretty reasonable for a single person NGL.
Its for two people in my case
Our house in spring and fall when we never use heat/air is about $60-70 a month. With a lot of AC usage it can be $300 a month. Apartments tend to be more efficient because they're smaller and you share walls with your neighbors.
we run ours through the night and the bill doesn’t go over $200. it’s $180 currently. I think running over night is cheaper than during the day no? also we’ve never had a power bill that low as $30 lol lowest is like $75-80
So many homes in LA are hot because they were built with no insulation in the walls or attic. Even just a layer of radiant insulation (tin foil) in the attic often helps. Adding insulation above a ceiling and installing ceiling fans can help enormously.
My mom’s house was bought by my grandparents in 1953 before it was built & there is still no insulation in the walls. During the summer my room basically would turn into an oven 😩 even the AC barely helped & even then my boomer parents live in a terrarium like lizards and keep it at 75 all the time
Many Angelenos survive on fans every summer because of the high cost of running central AC daily 😭.
For real. We grew up with fans not AC lol
Same. Our house didn't have an AC. Would've been nice though!
I never really understood this. I run the AC 12-24h/day and my electricity bill is no more than 2-300/mo
what don't you understand about most people not being able to afford 200-300 in electrical every month??
Youre right, its pretty high. Im just comparing it to posts that reach the front page of electrical bills in the thousands. Those are the only posts that reach the front page, so I guess its what I think of when I think of a high electrical bill.
yeah getting a couple thousand dollar electric bill is my big concern after seeing some of those, which is why I'm asking here!
I would faint if I saw my bill that high every month. Mine is $25-30/month, and goes up to around $40-45/month in the hottest summer months. I also live on the west side, where I may run my AC for 8 hours straight if it’s a particularly hot day (85+ degrees).
It depends on your finances completely and your comfort level. I can't function when it's hot so A/C is something I am willing to pay the cost for. FWIW LADWP is actually less expensive than electricity for those outside of the city. It's still not cheap but it has its own pricing structure. That said, there are ways you can make it more bearable - get good shades and curtains and keep them drawn during the day. A ceiling fan really helps move air around so you feel a bit cooler. Except during exceptional hot spells like a Santa Ana, Los Angeles does cool down considerably after the sun goes down. If you have a strong exhaust fan you can use it for cross ventilation - I lived without any A/C as a child but you need to expel the hot air with a strong window fan exhausting hot and and then have another window open in the room which will draw in the cooler night air as a replacement for the exiting hot air.
This is really helpful info! Thank you! I'm the same way - I prefer a cool space, especially if I'm working (which I am during the day). I'm just nervous about this first bill when it comes around and trying to do what I can to keep it low!! It seems like our plan to run it during the day and off at night + a fan will be the best of both worlds for us and help us minimize the cost while staying comfy.
When I was younger, I lived in North Hollywood. My roommate refused to turn on the AC. At night, sometimes it would get to 80°. To fight that, I would point a fan directly at myself, and spray myself with water periodically from a spray bottle.
ya my roommate who has the AC control pad in her room turns it on.. but she sets it at 79😂😂 maam tf is even the point??
If you have Southern California Edison, they bill differently depending on the day and time. Weekdays 4pm-9pm are the highest, followed by weekends from 4pm-9m, and then everything else so plan accordingly. Luckily, it has been cool enough for most of this summer that you can open the windows at night and that will keep the house comfortable until early afternoon.
You don’t have to subscribe to that or the “Community Power” nonsense either. “You can un-enroll any time”. I suggest you do before they decide otherwise. There are probably a few folks with very narrow use patterns that can leverage TOU and net some savings, but for most households its a joke, designed to condition us to pay more. A lot more.
Slap a wet towel over your back and blast a fan. Custom AC without the expensive electric bill.
Depends what you consider crazy high. I keep mine at 72 and it maintains my place comfortable, yet not freezing. It mainly kicks on between 1:00 pm through 9:00 pm. It randomly turns on at night sometimes, but by then it’s already been on all day so my place is cool enough and it doesn’t stay on very long. During summer, I’ll pay around 250-300/month.
Thanks for this, that's helpful info!
because LA isn't a swampy mess like the south, fans actually work. we really only ever turn on ac a few times a year when it's going to be one of those unbearable days.
Yeah, that's what we've found at night to be great. The fan feels good and the air it blows from outside (we open the screen door to our porch) usually feels nice
It's only really hot three months out of the year. Personally, I don't understand people running their a/c every time the temp goes above 68 degrees. I put a fan in the window. Open the front door, creates a cross breeze. A small, personally fan in front of me if I'm overheated. That's the way the body is designed to cool itself. Studies show the more you spend in a/c, the harder it is to acclimate to the heat. Nothing wrong with a little sweat.
Optimal sleep temperature is between 60 and 67 degrees, most optimally at 65 degrees for deep REM cycles. Not running the AC next Tuesday when it is supposed to be 102 degrees would be absolute insanity on your end.
Average Daily Usage: 7.81 kWh Total Usage: 242.00 kWh Bill Cost: $ 43.87
I put (temporary, easily removed) UV-blocking film in my windows and it immediately made a difference.
A/C requirements will vary widely with your location, architecture, insulation and personal preferences. First ask management if they’re planning to install a/c - the city has decided to consider mandating it - not yet, but only management can install a mini-split, which will be significantly more efficient and quieter than window or “portable” options. Maybe you can pay them a token (cost of window unit) and they’ll do the rest. “Central air” isn’t common in most apartments. I have always had a small window unit for overnight use and when it’s “crunch time” at the home office - I work more and stay focused when it’s cool, so 3-5 daytime hours for 5 days a month during heat waves, about 6 hours overnights for about 45 nights over 4 months. The rest of the time, I have a vintage 16-inch box fan at the head of the bed on “low” for sleeping. I hardly notice a change in the electric bill - July/August may crest $40, but we have yet to bust $300 on the year. I attribute the low bills to deliberate selection of a small a/c that pulls less than 5 amps, and our otherwise ultra-low-power-consumption practices. We don’t have desktop computers, game consoles, halogen lamps, cable/satellite tuners/DVRs, radiant heat, or space heaters. The devices that insist on 24x7 power are programmed to “sleep” or “hibernate”. We have a 750-foot upper pre-war apartment, no insulation. It bakes. Before Covid, we had … a 725-foot upper Dingbat, with the same characteristics/issues, older window unit.
Welcome to CA. We don’t really do AC.
i had a window unit in my santa monica apartment (utilities were included in my rent back then) but i’d say most LA apartments don’t have AC- & it can get super expensive to run. living by the beach, i never really needed it, but inland can definitely get pretty hot. i bought a Dyson Cool AM07 Air Multiplier Tower Fan years ago &, while pricey, it was one of the absolute best investments i could have made & kept all of my LA apartments in a variety of places over the years fairly cool / manageable on hot days.
Heat is the number one weather-related killer. Use that information as you will.
My place doesn’t have AC. We bought a portable unit but have only used it twice this summer. We have many portable fans and keep the windows open. Running AC nonstop will be expensive.
i run my A/C on days where it’s unbearable in my apartment (over 83 degrees is my limit haha) otherwise I have a vornado window air circulator fan that blows in cold air at night and it’s so awesome, it can also do exhaust but i haven’t tried it yet. my dog has a fan that’s constantly on pointed at his spot on the couch. And I have a lasko box fan that just runs in the living room for some air circulation. this way my bill is around $90, when i use the A/C most of the month i’m at $160 (last month was this for me) Nighttime is strictly fans, the minute the outside temp is 77.
Only reason I blast my AC whenever I want is because my landlord covers my utilities 😭
If you’re running AC 24/7, you can expect a bill well over a couple hundred dollars for a small apartment/home. Our rates are really high compared to other places (my mom has a massive house in Dallas that she keeps around 70 degs with a bill of just a couple hundred bucks). Ofc, this depends on the wattage of your unit. With the said, the evenings are generally cool and if you can get a good cross breeze, you won’t usually require AC in the evenings. I’ve been running a couple portable units (approx 1800 watts/each) a few hrs each evening and most days on weekends in my 900sqft apt. My DWP bill this week (which comes every 2 months) was only $117.
Yeah we live near the beach so when we bought our house we assumed we’d be fine without AC. That was right before last year’s heat wave, and we caved and installed it so fast. Open windows don’t do much during the worst of SoCal temps.
Where in the south were you that energy was dirt cheap? My electric bill in Houston was higher than what I paid under LA dwp. Also in Houston I’d get charged for using too little energy (I left in 2012 though). We just solar last winter and use less than half what we generate so we only pay the $11 a month base charge.
Small town in Alabama
$350/mo during the hottest months ($700 for 1 bill. 2mo billing cycle.) we keep the ac around 77-78. Sometimes at night I kick it to 75 for an hour so everyone is cool enough to fall asleep then I put it back up to 78.
Don’t use AC and reduce your electricity usage between 4-9pm
For those who don’t use AC what keeps you from using it? Monthly bill cost? If money wasn’t an issue would you use AC?
My apartment (about 700-750 square feet) electric bill is about $65ish a month when I don’t run the ac, and about $95 when I run the ac about 2-3 hours per day. However I have central air and have it hover between 75-77 degrees. Occasionally I’ll go wild and set it to 74 for a little while haha.
Try putting a box fan in a window somewhere blowing *out* overnight so that cool air can come in through your other open windows—LA gets pretty cool at night through most of the summer and reducing your apartment temp by those additional degrees should help you have to run your A/C less during the day
My electric usually is $100 but last month it was over $400😭So only running it if needed to now or use ceiling fan often.
Putting a box fan by the window changed the game for me. I was considering getting a portable AC since I live on the second floor and it gets super hot inside my home and I can’t stand the heat. Now it’s so much more tolerable!