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Comment by tristanb | Hacker News Reader

This doesn't make a lot of sense when my PGE bill is already $700 a month and gas is a tiny fraction of that. Fix the energy supplier first.

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If your bill is $700/month it's more than likely your fault. Either your house is quite large. Or you run it very inefficiently. In mild Northern California there's no reason for your bill to be that high.

It's pretty easy to get to $700/mo. There's a lot of old housing stock without good insulation, leaky windows, etc. Leaving a typical server on is like $70. I can see a 3bd 2ba apartment easily hitting $700/mo with an active family living in it. Add in an EV, that's another $50/mo right there, maybe more!

> There's a lot of old housing stock without good insulation, leaky windows, etc

That is very fixable. With $500/month of potential savings the return on investment is very high.

> Leaving a typical server on is like $70

1. That'll cut down on your heating bill.

2. How many people need a server that expensive? To do what?

Tenants don’t have the ability to make landlords fix things unfortunately

Years of the electricity provider being liable for record breaking wildfires and passing the buck on to the consumer is what’s happening

No kidding. In Northern Canada in the winter my apartment is $50/mo electricity, including heat. Caveat, new building.

Thanks for the assumption. Its a rental victorian, with no insulation, and we have a newborn. We keep it at 68' (when occupied). Heat is not on all day. I have taped all windows to exclude drafts, and have draft excluders on all doors. I've done everything a tenant can do.

You can hang heavy tapestries on the walls for added insulation. Rugs on the floors. There's a plastic film product you can put on the window panes to reduce heat loss.

I admit, with a bill that large I assumed a McMansion that you own. In your situation, I'd move to be honest. Easier said than done, with a newborn. But $700/month is completely ridiculous, unless you have really low rent to offset it.

Maybe they live in a rent-controlled apartment in SF, so rent is cheap, PGE bill is expensive and the landlord doesn't care about fixing insulation?

Are you a PGE customer? I only have them for gas, but this winter has been crazy expensive.

I am unfortunately.

You sure? Gas bill has been astronomically high lately.

Interesting. My last month bill from PG&E was $100 ($60 after generation credit). It's a 1900 sq. ft. flat in SF.

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