Question about energy costs?

Question

We live in South Texas. We are moving to a brand new house in December with all Energy efficent windows and good insulation. The house is a 2 story with 2700 square feet and since the house we live in now is old and only 1400 square feet, I am trying to get an idea of what type of energy costs we would be looking at having to pay.

Is anyone in this same situation that can give me some insight?? Thanks so much!

Answer 1

If your lifestyle is the same (heat & cool the same, wash/dry clothes the same, all other energy consumption the same), your energy bill will be just slightly lower than you are experiencing now, as you will be using more energy efficient appliances, while conditioning a larger home. The new furnace/air conditioner will have a higher energy rating.
In the winter, our homes loose heat through radiation of the heat energy. If the home is insulated well, you can heat a 3000 cubic foot area with the same energy as it would take to warm a 3 cubic foot area. If you constructed your home out of 1' thick foam walls, and had no transfer of air, you could heat a 10000 sq. ft. home with the heat from 10 100 watt light bulbs.

Answer 2

USA The most accurate way to determine your energy costs is to call the utilities - gas and electric companies - and ask them what that specific house has been paying for their energy. If they will not give you the information due to privacy laws, ask them if they can provide info on similar housing. Usually, they are glad to do this, and they will recommend ways to conserve energy/lower your bills.

With a larger house you might automatically assume higher energy bills; I know I would. BUT, if the old house was NOT insulated, and the new one is WELL insulated, that will make a huge difference in cooling costs. Also, the use of CFLs (compact fluorescent lamps) will lower your electrical usage (and bill).

The other major impact is your personal use of the utilities. Do you keep the heat at 75 degrees in winter instead of 68? Cooling at 58 degrees in summer instead of 75? Do you leave the lights on thrroughout the house all the time? How much energy do you waste? Energy conservation lowers your bills.

Without knowing the construction of each home, and the equipment in each, I cannot tell you if one home's utilities cost more than the other. The old home might have one 30 gallon water heater, the new home might have two 40 gallon water heaters. The older the house, usually the more energy IN-efficient. Newer homes cost less to heat / cool per square foot.

Call the local utilities. Then, educate yourself about energy conservation. If you like the computer, the federal department of energy has all kinds of good info on their website. And, ask your local utilities how to conserve. They are more than happy to share the info.

Sorry I can't put a price on this; there are too many variables.

Answer 3

At a power station, heat energy is "converted" to electrical energy. In your house, the electrical energy is converted to mechanical energy in the form of the motor-driven compressors that dissipate the heat energy that is absorbed by the air-conditioning system that cools the interior by absorbing the heat.
Your electrical energy consumption depends on the size of area that is to be cooled, and by the outdoor temperature, which may be cooling a 2700 sq.-ft area to 70 degress when the outdoor temperature is 95 degrees. I suugest you contact the local electrical utility co for an energy-cost estimate, or an local HVAC company that designs residential systems.