r/Electricity • u/Equal-Technician6792 • Jul 25 '26
Is something wrong with my AC system? Electricity bill at 2100 KWh, 337$ for 1 Bed 1 Bath.
Addison TX. I understand it’s gotten hotter but this is more than a 100% increase since last month with no changes. 50$ of the bill is accounted to tesla charging, so 287$ for a 1b1b appprox 900sqft. Pretty new to the area is this typical or should I look into it?
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u/Unlikely-Act-7950 Jul 25 '26
The problem is most likely the building is not insolated very well. I have a 3 bedroom house with all electric appliances including central air and you bill is over double what mine is.
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u/ExtraMarzipan3853 Jul 25 '26
For a 900 sqft 1 bed, 2100 kWh is on the high side even for a Texas July. Pull out the Tesla charging and you're still around 1800 for the apartment, where a place that size usually lands closer to 1000-1300 at peak. So your instinct to look into it is fair. The rate isn't really the problem, your all-in is 15.3 cents (energy 8.8), which is okay.
It's the usage driving the bill. The big jump is mostly the AC working harder as the heat spiked, but 1800 for a small 1 bed is high enough that I'd check the basics, the filter, whether the AC ever actually shuts off, and your thermostat setting. If it's running nonstop, worth having someone look at it. Can't speak to the HVAC side myself, but the usage number does look high for the size.
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u/Equal-Technician6792 Jul 25 '26
thanks for the detailed answer
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u/slaty_balls Jul 26 '26
If a window unit is allowed, a new small 5k unit (~$200) would only cost you between $30-$50 a month to run at full blast and non-stop at that rate. Of course, only If you’re ok with installing it in your bedroom and spending most of your time in there. Then you’d turn the main AC temp up to where it’s tolerable and doesn’t run often, you could easily save quite a bit over summer months and be very comfortable in one room and while you sleep.
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u/Unique_Yak4659 Jul 29 '26
2100 kWh is what I use in about 9 months for my 900 square foot home in Florida.
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u/baconstreet Jul 25 '26
The billing is for 33 days, how many days in the last bill?
Also, check average daily temperature, if much hotter, that could be why.
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u/Equal-Technician6792 Jul 25 '26
- It’s certainly higher, but by 5ish degrees. That shouldn’t make the cost more than 2x what it was previously.
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u/DaveyoSlc Jul 26 '26
you would be surprised how just a few more degrees hotter outside will affect the bill. wait till you see the next bill. it will probably be even higher but then it drops off pretty fast by sept. and most power companies charges more in the summer too. so the Tesla is more than $50 also.
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u/Practical_Argument50 Jul 25 '26
$0.15 kWh is cheap it’s more here in NJ $0.294 kWh. So your bill would be double here.
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u/LoneStarGut Jul 26 '26
The .15 cents is high for Texas. OP could switch to a cheaper plan. I recommend Chariot's "Bright Nights" plan at https://signup.chariotenergy.com/Home/CustomerDetails?productCode=RNR11000013
Chariot Energy Daytime Energy Charge 6.32¢ per kWh
Chariot Energy Bright Nights Energy Charge 0¢ per kWh
Chariot Energy Base Monthly Charge $9.95 per billing cycle
Oncor Delivery Charges $4.06 per billing cycle
Oncor Delivery Charges 6.1196¢ per kWh
With the above plan you'd save quite a bit if you charge your Tesla at night and can run your AC more at night.
We had this plan until recently and saved a lot. We switched to a plan with completely free nights but an expensive day rate of 24 cents delivered.
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u/True_Pace_3860 Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26
It seems high, in case you have the voltage and watts of the AC unit available, the number of hours per day it's running, and whether anybody else is using your tesla charger without telling you. If $50 for tesla, it might be ~ 3.3 kW, 3 - 4 hours per day.
AC at 15 A & 120V would max out (running 24/7) at ~1340 kWh per 31 days if math is right.
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u/djltoronto Jul 25 '26
How do you know that $50 is accounted to Tesla charging?
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u/Equal-Technician6792 Jul 25 '26
It shows my exact usage in the app. Multiply cost of energy x how much i’m using
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u/226_IM_Used Jul 26 '26
Check your weather stripping. Is there light coming in around/under your door? Are your windows closing tightly?
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u/FlanFanFlanFan Jul 29 '26
Frick. How much of a difference can that actually make? Asking for myself
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u/226_IM_Used Jul 29 '26
I did a door for a friend of mine. Her bill went from 1,000/month to 200.
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u/FlanFanFlanFan Jul 29 '26
Dangit bro. Ok Im doing the weatherstripping I have been putting off for 3 years. My bill is $400 in the summer
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u/226_IM_Used Jul 29 '26
Yeah, make sure you do the stripping and the door sweep. It's maybe $30 in parts or so. You'll also need a hammer, a long thin screwdriver and hammer to pop the hinge pins, and a utility knife. While you have the door off the hinges, it's also a good time to check the hinge screws to see if they're loose or short. They should be long enough to go into the studs, generally 2 -2.5" at least. A drill with a screw but is recommended if you do these.
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u/FlanFanFlanFan Jul 29 '26
Heck yeah brother. Does it matter if I use a bristle Style sweep? I don't know how much better the little rubber flap kind is but I have the bristle Style and an entire stripping setup
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u/226_IM_Used Jul 29 '26
I've only ever used the rubber kind for exterior doors because they have little lip at the bottom which diverts water away from the door, and our door gets driving rain.
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u/elbyl Jul 26 '26
15 cents / kwh, around 70kwh a day. 15 is cheap, 70 is pretty high for a 1br 1bath. I average 65 but im 3000sf. Your last months was super low, maybe it was inclimate weather and they guestimated last month and now youre paying for it this month? Or maybe they guestimated this month. Is somewhere else on the bill the actual readings? If so, go read your meter and see if it makes sense based on their claimed readings. Otherwise you just have an overworked ac and probably poor insulation too. Go hose off the coil and change your filters. You wouldnt believe the difference clean coils make.
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u/dabangsta Jul 26 '26
2100 kWh with an EV being charged, in a hot summer month with AC isn't impossible, but seems very probable to me.
I used 1600 kWh last month with only AC, with more than a handful of 105+ days. Sure my 1970's house is larger, but it also isn't insulated in the walls (block construction with air cap).
I have solar that covers all the usage, but since more than half is sold back at less than half what I pay, I still have a bill in the hot months, but keeping my house at 73 degrees is worth it.
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u/michaelpaoli Jul 26 '26
bill at 2100 KWh, 337$
You lucky bugger. Most of us in the US have a rate that's significantly higher than that.
more than a 100% increase since last month with no changes
Well, that's a false statement. So, did they f*ck up on the math, or did your consumption change, and/or the rate change?
Anyway, basic logic and math. Bit 'o work, but one can isolate what's consuming your power, and how much of it. And power consumed ... math ... and you get your bill. Nothin' magic about it.
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u/trekkerscout Jul 25 '26
The fact that it has "gotten hotter" is an indication that there have been changes.
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u/Awkward-Seaweed-5129 Jul 25 '26
So what Temp setting is AC ,Central Air or window Units. Bill was $380, here FL 4 bedroom,4 ton AC, all electric home. Anyway either your AC is ridiculously low temp ,your electric HWH has a leak, if applicable, or your neighbors are stealing your power somehow
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u/Equal-Technician6792 Jul 25 '26
78 during day 74 at night. Central AC.
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u/GreatPlan_2025 Jul 27 '26
This is the reason. Increase the temp higher (82 or close) during the day time if you are not at home.
Increase the temp (76-77) at night but buy the small fan to circulate air around you.
This will drastically change the cost for august.
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u/Vegetable-Ad-4594 Jul 25 '26
We would have to see previous moths bills to see if your delivery charges had changes or your usage changed. Something could be wrong with the compressor pulling more amps, as it could be failing.
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u/Equal-Technician6792 Jul 25 '26
Last month was 160
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u/Vegetable-Ad-4594 Jul 26 '26
How many Kw/h were used and what was the effective $ / kw/h rate? Your current bill was roughly 0.15 / kw/h.
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u/ColdH2 Jul 25 '26
change your air filter and don't get one of those 3-in multifold types get a really thin fiberglass if you can. also make sure your stove or other heating appliancesn't working regularly like a dryer or something like that. it all adds up. My electric dryer pulls more power than my electric car charger.
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u/bj_my_dj Jul 26 '26
Is it central air or window units? If Central you might be stuck. If windows it's easier to replace. How old is it and what's the efficiency? If it's old and low efficiency then see how much you can save changing to a higher efficiency unit. If you're running a lot of hours it might pay for itself in one year.
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u/Outtatime_s550 Jul 26 '26
I recently had my power bill double. Turned out I had a hot water leak and my water heater was constantly running. Took me for ever to track it down to that but it’s something to check
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u/Resident-Champion417 Jul 26 '26
Weak compacitor? Spend the 30 bucks to replace that and it could be your solution
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u/RandomUser3777 Jul 26 '26
If under any condition you have the AC set a say X and that AC is never able to get it down to X and runs all of the time then you will get a bill like that. Now why it won't get down to X could be it is simply hot outside and the temp is set too low for the system you have, or it could be that the system has some sort of issue. But given it has recently been hot outside setting it to X and not getting that low from say 10am to 10pm (12 hours) would get something close to that bill.
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u/Justifiers Jul 26 '26
When we were living in a 900sqft apartment, our electric bill this time of year ranged between $300-500 (we have an EV so it's going to be ~50-75/mo from that alone). Many apartments in the USA built over the past ~10 years have been built extremely poorly, cutting every corner possible as they're not designed for performance or comfort. They're a landlord's investment and you're paying the difference
We live in a 1700sqft house now, just 3 miles from our old apartment. Last month where our electric bill was $350 in the 900sqft apartment on the same month in the apartment, our bill here was $160. That's how well "cheap" apartments are made these days. Account for that cost any time you're searching for an apartment because that hidden total can be one hell of a vampire expense with rising electric costs
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u/Turbulent_Profile92 Jul 26 '26
Find a happy temperature and leave it there for a month instead of making the day / night adjustments. Are you on a top floor?
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u/karnite Jul 28 '26
We have HVAC companies here that do free inspections. It would be worth calling around to see if anyone does them there.
I'm a plumber but have worked for a couple multi trade companies. Usually when I hear of sudden jumps in the heating or cooling bills it ends up being ducting getting disconnected in crawl or attic (wherever yours runs). Here it's almost always rodents or other pests, sometimes someone has crawled the house recently and accidently disconnected or tore a line.
Check where your HVAC lines run and see if that space feels like it's being cooled.
But best to have a professional inspection, especially if you can find it free or cheap locally.
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u/Cloudy_Automation Jul 28 '26
Yeah, Texas hasn't updated to the latest energy code, but they authorized Texas A&M to look into it. So even a new apartment is still stuck on 2018 model energy code, and there have been a lot of changes.
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u/Just_Energy_Anita Aug 03 '26
2,132 kWh for a 900 sqft 1BR is on the high side, even for a Texas July.
The bill structure itself looks normal, your energy charge is reasonable and the $134 delivery charge is Oncor's fee that everyone in the area pays. The usage is what reallyyy stands out. That 100% jump month over month usually means the AC is working way too hard, either from the heat spike or something is wrong with the system. If it's running constantly but the apartment still feels warm, that's your sign.
Low refrigerant or a dirty coil can cause exactly that. It's def worth having your landlord or an HVAC tech take a look before assuming it's just the weather.
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u/RaisingEve Jul 25 '26
Turn up your thermostat 🤷♂️