Marc_ely

Can anyone living in OC in something like a 4bed house with 4 people in it tell me what they spend on Electricity/Gas/Water Bills in a year please?
I appreciate that everyone has different thresholds for hot/cold etc but I see quotes of between $50 and $600 a month in the forums - which is a bit of a wild range!

I guess the electricity is less in the mild winter vs more in the summer (for aircon)? Is that right?

Thanks
Marc

Wibblypig

Which OC are you referring too? I live in OC in Florida

Marc_ely

Sorry OC in California.
I bet you don't even have heating in Florida!

Marc

Bob

That and the one in CA have to be more glamorous than the one in Mass

Water, tends to get included in the rent, electric/AC depends on location and all sorts, so the range is probably about right unless you can be a bit more specific.

Few threads on utility costs in CA and OC in specific, so might be worth a search.

md95065

That particular equation depends a lot on exactly where you are how well insulated your house is.

In coastal Northern California it would typically be the reverse - summer is warm enough to not need any heating but not hot enough to require air conditioning - winter is not particularly cold but it is cold enough to require heating. Move inland and the summer / winter balance can easily reverse itself.

Havnfun

We are in Mission Viejo in a 2700 sq. ft. house 3 people. We have only been in this house for 3 months so not sure what our annual bills will be like but the average over the past 3 months are water $50, gas $175, electric $290.

We do have a pool and both of us work from home so we probably use more than the average household

Our previous house in Mission Viejo last summer the electric bills were $900 per month The weather was so hot and the A/C was really old in that house. If you are renting make sure you look at the age of the A/C and furnace.

Alan17

Those look high. We're in a 3200sq ft place in Yorba Linda. Eclectic runs about $100 in the winter, $200 plus in the summer. Gas is about $80 per month. Water around $80 but depends how often your sprinklers are on.

We just bought a new place with a pool so may look into solar for pool heating if that becomes an issue.

Marc_ely

Thanks all.
I am going to base the calcs on Alan17's post for now.