My new place has gas heat and a gas stove. The electric bill is very high now. Shouldn’t I be saving money?

Have you been using a space heater?

It really depends on what kinds of electric appliances are in the house as well. If they’re not very energy efficient, or if you’re using an electric space heater, that might be what’s sucking the electricity up.

Some electric companies charge for gas. Gas is more expensive than ever now. I had PECO energy for my old house, and in the winter gas would be high from the heat and electric very low. The summer was the opposite because no heat, and a lot of electric to run window air conditioners. Winter always cost way more over all though.

See if your being charged more for electric or gas on your bill.

Every time that gas furnace kicks in, there’s an electric blower at work.

Is your refrigerator at the new place larger, or older, or both, than at the old place? That’s more electricity for cooling, and heating and cooling account for most of the electric bill. Light is a distant third place. (Tip: if it’s not full, put things in it that don’t have to be chilled or frozen but won’t be harmed by it. Solids retain cold better than air.)

How about square footage? Are you heating more rooms, or bigger? Are the ceilings higher? Are there more or bigger windows? Are there draperies, and are they insulated, and do you keep them closed? Do you receive sun in the daytime, through open drapes and blinds, or are you mostly in shade? Drafts at windows or doors? How’s the wall, floor, and ceiling insulation?

Are you heating water with gas or electricity? Electric on-demand water heating remains high-energy-consumption–and seems to encourage us to take crazy-long showers because the hot water never runs out.

Are you supplementing your heat with electric space heaters? They’re big energy users.

There are so many factors that might account for the difference that it’s hard to figure out where to suggest you save. One thing is to read your own electric meter and make sure it’s similar to the utility company’s reading. (Use the last number the hand has passed.) Confirm that they got an actual read and the bill is not based on an estimate, which would be based on the previous occupant’s usage.

Your gas furnace has an electric motor on it to push the air through the vents and into your house. If all appliances are old, then they will not be energy efficient, gas or electric. Replace your light bulbs with halogen screw-in bulbs to cut down on energy consumption. And check the hot water heater. If it is electric and set up high, then that might be a problem. Turn off all electronics at nighttime – you don’t want that little red light glowing all night as that consumes electricity. And if your home is very old, the electricity wiring itself may need to be updated.

Check the actual rates you are paying for gas. Gas rates vary by suppliers.
Is your house well insulated? Do you have good windows or storm windows installed. If your huse is not sealed up properly you are loosing heat and that is why yur bill is higher. Is the water heater gas or electric? Has your gas supplier raised their rates recently. WAS the last bill an actual ‘read’ of the meter or did they estimate the usuage.
Call the gas company and ask for assistance.

Most likely because your furnace has an electric blower on it, so every time your heater kicks on…so does your blower.
To help save a little money you could try turning your thermostat down to 65-68 degrees when you go to sleep and also just turning your thermostat down in general. Even setting it 2 degrees lower can help save money.
Good luck to you.