Temps and Electric Bill
It's been a bit cold for Florida in the past few weeks. It has been in the 30's overnight which is very cold when you are used to 60 degrees at night. Regardless, we did turn on the heat for about two weeks at night due to the low temps.
The heat has been off for about a week and a half since the temperature at night has risen to about 40 degrees. The day time temps are averaging mid to upper 50's outside and indoor temps have been in the 65-69 range. My husband and middle DD are always warm. My oldest DD, DS, and myself are usually cold and have been wearing sweaters in the house.
We have been wearing sweaters, opening the blinds to let the morning sun in, and drinking hot tea (myself) and my kids have been drinking some hot chocolate. My oldest DD has been wearing socks, long pants, and a hoodie sweater. My DS has been covering up with blankets that we keep laying over the sofa and a few of the chairs. He has also been wearing his sweater when I ask him to put it on.
We did all the laundry yesterday. I try and get it done three times a week. The dishwasher is used every day on the normal cycle without the dry cycle. This means that the kids have to actually hand dry the dishes with a towel when putting them away. The washing machine is set on the preferred cycle (which is a quick wash in cold water) and the wash cycle is completed in 35 minutes. The dryer is running on an timed dry of 40 minutes and is set to the preferred setting that I programmed into it. When anyone does the laundry all they have to do is push the power button and start. There is no reason to change the settings since this seems to be working well.
Water Bill
The dreaded water bill came in the mail on Saturday. The builders and contracters were running the irrigation to establish the sod and three new trees on the property every day. I was told to continue this for up to 6 weeks to help continue establishing the landscaping. The HOA is mandated to enforce the landscaping rules.
I stopped the every day water irrigation after two weeks of moving into our "retirement home" as I can not afford a expensive bill. The water bill comes every month. I was looking over the water bill and the total cost from 12/13/2017-12/28/2017 was 177.46! This was for about two weeks!
THUD!
I was looking over the charges and the breakdown of the bill. Here it is:
Utility tax 6.51
Connection charges 50.00 (one time fee)
Irrigation (landscaping) 53.70
Garbage 20.13
Sewer 17.45
Water 11.39
Storm water 8.02
FA residential 10.26
The monthly usage shows that the irrigation for the landscaping what was set to the builder preferences used 14,000 gallons! Holy creepers Batman! The settings were changed after we moved in from every day to twice a week for 15 minutes. We have a rain sensor installed on the irrigation system so if we get enough rain in the week then the irrigation system knows not to run.
In the two week time period we used 2,000 gallons of water to provide for daily needs.
As you can see from above we do have twice a week trash pick up and once a week recycling pick up. When we were living in Virginia we had to take our household trash and recycling to the landfill due to not having public trash pick up. I would rather pay for this service since it is provided to the city residents. It is so much easier to have it picked up and the city provides the trash receptacles and recycling buckets.
I would like to see the new water bill for a full month decrease since we changed the settings on the irrigation system.
My DS showers every night. My oldest DD showers once a day. My middle DD showers every other day unless she is working. My husband showers once a day. I shower every other day unless I am working.
$103 is for singular events:connection and establishment of sod/trees. I wouldn't fret it, it should be anticipated with a new development. As regards heat: depending upon the location of your water lines, and whether or not they are insulated, I would keep the temp set at minimally 55-60 degrees for heat. It may* turn on as needed. If the home is well insulated, it will be infrequent. HTH
ReplyDeleteAlso, the frequency of showering is far less important than the length of time spent with water running. A 45 minute shower every other day vs a 5 minute daily like I do (8 when shaving) is a huge difference. I see no savings by skipping a day. My philosophy is that if I miss a spot today, I'll get it tomorrow.
DeleteThere are no 45 minute showers in this house! The kids know to take short showers. I take about less than 10 minute shower. My husband is in and out in less than a few minutes.
DeleteThose were intentional extremes to make my point. : )
DeleteWhat happens if the HOA notices your not following the landscaping rules, would you get fined? Cheryl
ReplyDeleteI would hope as the grass grows that it would not be noticeable that we are not watering every day. The three newly planted trees seem to be doing well on the twice a week irrigation.
DeleteI read over the HOA documents that were given to us at closing. They are required to send out two notices and the third time there is a fine.
There are still homes being built in this development, a lot of construction still going on, and numerous other contract people in the area and on the road that I live installing appliances, doing duct work, painting, etc etc.
I would hope that the HOA would be able to be patient while the landscaping establishes itself as it will take some time for all the homes to have the "HOA required green grass".
That's good.
ReplyDelete