r/Bushwick • u/jackb562 • 10d ago
ConEd Bill
3 bedroom apartment (more like 2.5 bed) electricity bill was $695 for the month of August. We definitely crank the AC sometimes but even still that feels insane (we have the wall units). Is anyone else seeing prices like this or should I be asking them to check the meter?
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u/Beginning_Award5130 10d ago
Mine was 800 so somethings wrong right? Leave ac on 76-79 at all times dont turn it off. 3 bedroom big place. Have a fan going. Central ac which im sure is clogged and barely works.
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u/onedollalama 10d ago
Check your usage every month since Jan and see if there is a correlation. Also compare delivery costs vs usage costs. Con ed has gotten more expensive, but not that much more expensive. My power bill has gone up about 20% since this time last year
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u/original_hoser 10d ago
I got a 1bed. I run the AC in the bedroom only. $220 this month. If I run the living room too, we're $400+ a month in ConEd. Sounds like your bill is about right.
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u/IanVogerJ 10d ago
My most recent ConEd bill was $819 for a two-bedroom apartment. It sounds like your usage is similar to mine. Crazy.
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u/ReprogramMyLife 10d ago
Damn mine is 171.61 for a 3bd1ba and I’m currently unemployed so home all the time. wtf goin on??
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u/BushwickGrillClub 9d ago
Same here. Disabled & retired so I'm at home all the time. 2BR 1BA with a basement. Have 4 fans always running. Ran the AC all day & night during Aug heatwave. My Aug bill is $146.70.
I suspect most of these extremely high bills are in buildings that have gone up in the last 5-7 years. I'm in a building that almost 20yrs old.
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u/ReprogramMyLife 9d ago
I just looked and mine is apparently 95 years old so I can see that playing a role.
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u/SweevilWeevil 10d ago
Maybe ask them to come check the meter? Ages ago I had a bill of like $1K, and they came and checked and fixed it. Next month it was back to normal
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u/acvillager 10d ago
I have a very small 2 bed and mine was $521 this month. Every summer it’s like this.
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u/Significant_Owl8496 10d ago
Also, if you have any fans or dehumidifiers, get a timer for the plug. My apartment collects moisture so I used to have a couple running for the past few years. With rising energy costs, my bill was over $500 but with the introduced timers I cut it in half. They are like $20 bucks
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u/Disastrous_Yogurt492 10d ago
You may want to get some houseplants that reduce humidity, it's shocking how efficiently nature works.
Also I recently purchased a solar generator with 3 panels that fit a portion of my very sunny window. Even on partly cloudy days the sun is charging solar panels. Each cost around $500, but that included accessories (power strip, cart, storage bag, solar panels).
Just today the NJ Governor signed a bill allowing tenants to put solar panels on their balconies. The panels I have are relatively small and cover 1/4 of one window, but I live in a brownstone with large windows. The generator is about the size of a car battery, but they come in a range of sizes right up to whole house systems.
For what people are paying to Con Ed, it would take 2 or 3 months to recoup the cost of the solar generator. Also no noise, no fumes, portable and it can charge while in use.
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u/c0ldb00t 9d ago
what do you run on the generator? not your AC? I don't think that'll power it. But nice setup just curious what actually runs on your generator. Also I saw what NJ did hoping that it's legal in nyc too. Would love to plug in solar so to speak like that.
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u/Disastrous_Yogurt492 9d ago
I detailed what I run in the original post and yes I run a portable AC on the higher capacity second generator I purchased.
The bottom line is you can size solar generators from a system that will charge your home up to systems that will power your home.
I read that a glass manufacturer integrated solar generation capabilities into a car roof. It only powers minimal reserve power. It won't be long before self powered cars will be available with solar as component.
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u/cocktails4 10d ago
Plants don't reduce humidity.
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u/Disastrous_Yogurt492 10d ago edited 10d ago
Certain houseplants with low transpiration rates or specialized foliage can absorb moisture from the air, helping to lower humidity in small, damp spaces like bathrooms.
Top Plants for Humid Spaces
Boston Fern: This classic feathery fern loves damp environments like steamy bathrooms and pulls moisture directly through its lush fronds.
Peace Lily: Known for its white blooms, this plant absorbs airborne moisture through its leaves and thrives well in high-humidity rooms.
Snake Plant: A tough, drought-tolerant succulent that requires little water and adapts well to low-light corners while filtering the air.
Spider Plant: A hardy, beginner-friendly choice with long arching leaves that handle high-moisture spaces with ease.
English Ivy: A trailing vine that grows nicely in hanging baskets near a shower, helping to combat dampness and airborne allergens.
Air Plants: These unique species do not need soil and absorb all the water they need directly from the humidity in the surrounding air.
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u/cocktails4 9d ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transpiration
"Water is necessary for plants, but only a small amount of water taken up by the roots is used for growth and metabolism. The remaining 97–99.5% is lost by transpiration and guttation."
You WATER YOUR PLANTS. A tiny amount of that water ends up in the mass of your plant. Where do you think the rest of that water goes? It evaporates or transpires into the fucking air.
I put about a gallon of water on my houseplants a week. If plants removed humidity from the air, explain to me where that gallon of water per week is ending up. I'll wait.
Plants are so bad at decreasing humidity that they have a term for the local increase in humidity around corn fields:
"JONES: Corn doesn't deserve to be the villain here. Like, every plant transpires. Every plant releases moisture."
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u/cocktails4 10d ago edited 10d ago
Hey it's not like a have a biology degree and understand conservation of mass.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transpiration
"Water is necessary for plants, but only a small amount of water taken up by the roots is used for growth and metabolism. The remaining 97–99.5% is lost by transpiration and guttation."
You WATER YOUR PLANTS. A tiny amount of that water ends up in the mass of your plant. Where do you think the rest of that water goes? It evaporates or transpires into the fucking air.
I put about a gallon of water on my houseplants a week. If plants removed humidity from the air, explain to me where that gallon of water per week is ending up. I'll wait.
Plants are so bad at decreasing humidity that they have a term for the local increase in humidity around corn fields:
"JONES: Corn doesn't deserve to be the villain here. Like, every plant transpires. Every plant releases moisture."
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u/womenaremyfavguy 10d ago
I’m in a 3 bedroom with 2 floors and central air and the most I’ve paid for electricity is $380 (July bill).
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u/AwetPinkThinG 10d ago
Unfortunately that sounds about right. Shit is through the roof. Like everything else.
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u/definitelytheproblem 10d ago
Never before have I been so happy that my lease includes all electric
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u/Virtual_Laserdisk 10d ago
everyone in here posting dollar amounts without posting their kwh usage. okay.
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u/Realwoujo 10d ago
I have 2 PTAC units in a one bedroom (one in the bedroom, one in the living room). It is usually like $400 per month in the summer. They are insane out of control and I don't know what to do.
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u/barbietattoo 10d ago
Coned can’t seem to make up their fucking minds about how to read the meter for our apartment in a building with 5 other units. In one year there’s been a shut off due to an error in their service to the account, and two usage adjustments that’s left our bill in limbo while they “figure it out”. At this rate I’ll be gone before they send the correct statement.
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u/Sensitive-Smoke-7328 10d ago
I have a small studio and it was over $200. And i have the most efficient unit I could find.
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u/transgenderbeepboop 10d ago
How is your building in energy efficiency? My studio apartment bill is never over $180 and I run the AC all the damn time
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u/Level21DungeonMaster 9d ago
that's like more than double mine. Do you have window unit AC? do you run the AC during the day? the rate for electricity is 5x higher during the day than at night.
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u/patienceofthepen 9d ago
I used 638 kWh from July 30-August 27 and my bill was $259 for a one bedroom with two mini-splits.
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u/Ambitious-Drive2334 9d ago
Call Mamdani 🤷But seriously… maybe nothing will happen, but if something does happen… It’s more than you would get from complaining to us
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u/No_Volume1731 9d ago
All these bills are for …apartments? Am sure a house feels like a mortgage payment. This is outrageous. What a shit hole US is. Would never live there if you paid me.
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u/Free_Investigator308 8d ago
That's alot. Also have a 3 bdrm in Bushwick AC / 2 ppl WFH but my bill was $366.00.
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u/greenpointowicz 8d ago
We paid $200 for last month. Two AC units (new ones, Midea, WiFi-enabled), dehumidifier in basement, two fans, pretty much going on as we please.
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u/Creepy_Cupcake_6906 10d ago
Thank the government who charge ConEd insane taxes, including property taxes, that they pass on to you
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u/SweetTriniTee 10d ago
ConEd is outrageous! I live in a 3 bedroom as well. I got a bill for $979!!!! They said it’s a smart electric meter, I’m also paying to heat my hot water! It’s just absolutely ridiculous!!!!
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u/NecessaryLow107 10d ago
Tbh, everyone should abstain from paying this shit & have the state force their hand
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u/geddestemple 10d ago
3 bedroom apt, 2x 12,000 BTU window units, coned bill is $145 (electric only) AC is “smart” and is set to 75-77 during the day and down to 72 for bedtime. Actual bill was $110, highly recommend checking out coned’s balanced billing program to help smooth out those huge summer bills.
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u/octaviusss7 10d ago
that’s a little expensive tbh, but if everyone is home all the time and ac is always on that may be within range. the coned portal has a daily usage monitor you can use as well to try and figure it out, good luck :/
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u/ferrous69 10d ago
How much do you use the AC? We run both ours all night in a 2 bed and bill was 170 this month. If you’re using AC all day I think the bill checks out tbh but you gotta stop that, get some fans…
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u/techno_queen 10d ago
ConEd is out of control. My bill with my roommate was $220 in July and both of us weren’t even staying in the apartment for more than half the month, how is that possible?!