Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jan 26, 2010 3:49 pm Hi All!! We just received our quarterly power bill for our hot little rental and I nearly fell over when I saw it was more than $300. There are four of us (2xadults & 2x7 year olds) in a cramped little villa with no air-con, no fans, no dishwasher etc. You get the picture right? On yet another 30 degree plus day in Sydney, I'm just wondering whether we'll even be able to turn on the air-con in our new home because the cost of power is increasing so much. How do those of you in completed homes find the cost of running your a/c? Do you think your use is moderated by the cost of power and that in NSW we've been told to expect a 60% increase in prices over the next 3 years? Pix Built a (highly) modified Allcastle Maxworth 38.7 in Sydney. Re: Air Con Costs In New Homes 2Jan 26, 2010 4:11 pm I'm factoring in to get some solar panels within the first year of moving in to feed back into the grid and justify using the air con while it's hot outside. Pricey up front cost compared to the ongoing electricity costs and the increases that are predicted. Re: Air Con Costs In New Homes 3Jan 27, 2010 12:04 pm Hi Pix, We are also a small family, renting while we are building and also found a steep increase in power bills at the rental. The biggest contributing factor that we found was going from off peak hot water to instantaneous with about the same sized tank. As we will be having gas where we are moving to, we are hoping that the costs will not be as high, and then we can justify using our ac. Cheers, CMET Re: Air Con Costs In New Homes 5Jan 27, 2010 5:30 pm Thanks for replying I have been thinking *seriously* of the solar panel option and may do this after handover. It makes so much sense to feed power into the grid and now the government in NSW has changed the way this works, it makes the upfront cost much more bearable. We are also having gas (cooking and hot water) but I was speaking to a gf just today who complained her gas bill has also gone through the roof! eeeeek! If anyone else has any more feedback on their power costs and running a/c I'd really love to know. Thanks. Pix Built a (highly) modified Allcastle Maxworth 38.7 in Sydney. Re: Air Con Costs In New Homes 6Jan 28, 2010 12:37 pm I've found that rentals have pretty poor insulation and it costs more to run the a/c. Our new house has wall and ceiling insulation (while the rental only has ceiling) and on really hot days it's not too bad. $300 seems a lot - we're 2A, no kids but our last one with the a/c on for the very hot days was $250. Is the hot water system electric? that might explain a lot. Otherwise it sounds quite high. After 4 years - we're in! Re: Air Con Costs In New Homes 7Jan 28, 2010 12:44 pm with aircond it depends on how well your house is sealed and also the temp you set it to. SOme people like to set there air conds to 18 degrees in summer and i bet the same people like to set there heater to 27 in winter If you set your air cond to 26 on a 35 to 40 degree day then for most people you should not see much more than a 150 increase in power biill for th summer month. How do you remove one of these ceiling air con vents? And is it possible to disconnect the duct joined to the vent from inside the house, without going into the roof cavity? 0 5944 Hi all, sorting out the ducted air con for a 350sqm double story house. Does this placement sound reasonable to you? Also, I plan to have 6 zones I think. Living room… 0 0 Hi all, sorting out the ducted air con for a 350sqm double story house. I think i plan to have 6 zones I think. Living room (mainly for entertainment so not used often),… 0 0 |