Marc, presumably you have gas heat because if you have electric heat, I am pleased (or not) to inform you that your heating bill is definitely higher than your A/C bill. At least our is.

My hunch is that gas heat is probably more efficient than electric A/C, so even if you're cooling the temperature down less, the heating is done more efficiently and so costs less.

Well, that is how a free market is supposed to work, isn't it? Price increases with demand.

Well, I have the opposite experience. I hate winter because our gas bill becomes astronomical (tops out around $1000/mo for the coldest month), while our electric bill in the summer (for A/C) only jumps up $100 or so per month. We have a drafty old 1800s house, though, so my experience may not be typical. We've lived there 5 years and the same thing happens every year. We've even lowered the thermostat to 63* and put electric heaters in the bedrooms with electric blankets to try to allay some of the gas consumption/cost (must remember to turn off the electric heater when drying my hair or the breaker blows), but the bill was still up there. I'm so glad we're in the "no heat or AC phase" of the seasons now!

Heat pumps, refrigerators, and air conditioners, for example, move heat, rather than convert it, so other measures are needed to describe their thermal performance. Heaters just convert fuel to heat and are more efficient. People with heat pumps pay more in the winter than if they had a gas heater for this reason.

One more thing:

Check this out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_efficiency#Heat_pumps_and_Refrigerators

I have gas heat and electric A/C, and my winter gas bills end up being higher than my summer A/C. However, I have a whole house fan which I use most of the time, saving the A/C for only the most disgustingly humid days. A whole house fan is a terrific money saver, as it clears the heat out of the attic, creates a breeze throughout the house, and allows the A/C to be turned off on all but the hottest days. Also, I leave everything off when I am away. Typically, my highest winter gas bill is about $80, and the highest summer electric bill is about $45, for my WW II vintage Arlington townhouse. Electricity in the winter is around $25-30 per month, and gas in the summer is around $20, for the water heater, stove, and clothes dryer. Perhaps Marc is getting high A/C bills due to excessive sun loading, which can mean more than the actual temperature difference. The house should have a white or light-colored roof, and it is important to keep curtains and blinds closed on the sunny side of the house so that sun does not shine into the house through the windows in the summer.

As others have noted, you are only looking at one side of the equation. Electric demand increases in the summer because the majority of cooling systems, at least on the residential side, utilize electricity. However, for heating, consumers have many more choices, including not just electricity but also heating oil and natural gas. Thus, while the electric bill will increase in the summer, that's no guarantee that a customer's overall utility payments are higher.

Are you considering GAS and electric bills, the total utility bill per month? During the winter any activity such as gas, cooking, etc generates heat (welcomed during those cold months); whereas, when cooking in the summer, energy is expended twice - once to create heat (stove) and again to cancel the effect of that heat (the a/c kicks on while mom's making brownies).

It is easier to create excited particles (Heat) with elecrticity then it is to remove excitement from particles (cool) with electricity.

I have oil heat and central air for the main house, plus an additional with a heat pump. We also have converted the fireplace downstairs to gas logs so we use another 30 lbs of propane per month in the winter. We average around 225 gallons of heating oil per season.

I also average around 1500 kw during the winter months and 2100 kw during the summer months so my electric bill does go up during the summer. I think we are doing pretty well on usage considering we have 3200 sq ft house.

The electric co-op (SMECO) does not raise rates during the summer months so my only increased cost is for usage.

A few ways to save on usage/money:

Using programmable thermostats has really cut down on electric usage at all times of the year - no sense running the heat or A/C when nobody is home.

We replaced the windows with EnergyStar compliant dual panes.

Adding insulation to the attic plus a whole house fan, has also cut the utility usage.

We offset some of the electricity costs by participating in the Load Management Program. This allows the electric co-op to turn off the water heater, central air conditioner, and heat pump remotely during peak usage hours. They have six different frequency signals they send out so they only shut down my systems for 10 minutes out of every hour. You can't even tell the difference and they give me a $10 credit every month because we participate.

There are several issues:

1. There is no alternative to electricity for household cooling. (Evaporator/chillers can use a "low-quality" heat sorce and work for large, older buildings already equipped with central boilers for heat or hot water.) New York, one of the most populous states, uses less electricity than four states with lower population: Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Georgia(http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/reps/enduse/er01_us.html). In New England, it is not uncommon to find older houses that still burn fuel-oil for heat and hot water (New York has the highest fuel-oil consumption in the nation).

2. Utilities run the cheapest most efficent plants as much as possible. As demand increases, less efficient and more costly sources are brought on line.

3. The problem of increased demand for power in the summer is compounded by the nature of the electrical load. Load power is actually a sum of two components: real power and reactive power. Purely resistive loads such as heaters or incandescent lights use only real power. Small induction motors found in air conditioners, fans and blowers consume both real and reactive power. Without getting into too much detail, reactive power, which does not travel far, is needed to support the line voltage and is consumed during transmission in proportion to the square of the current shipped (a 10% increase in demand requires 21% more reactive power). As demand increases, voltage will dip without an increased production of reactive power. If voltage is not maintained, the efficency of induction motors is reduced, increasing reactive demand, which causes voltage to dip further, which ... you get the point (remember the 2003 blackout?). The problem to the utilities is reactive power brings in no revenue, but is required to support real power. Generators produce a mix of both reactive and real power that can be adjusted short term. This change alone will not suffice since reactive power is local. Large capacitor banks are required to "inject" reactive power along the way. As demand increases, it simply becomes more difficult and costly to meet the demand, even if the resources appear to be sufficient.

The simple answer: Heating via natural gas is a far more efficient process than cooling via electricity.

Marc, don't you have at least one skylight in your house? That might explain some of the reason why your a/c bill is so high.

My a/c bill is lower than my heating bill because my townhouse uses natural gas to heat.

You can pay more upfront for a natural gas powered Ac unit. They last longer than the typical electric one. Or go with chillers which are cheaper. Or go with geo thermal.
I am just out here in Upperville watching my 1000 sheep fart and create methane gas.
I hope it ruins Al Gore day. My sheep contribute to global warming. And I set my thermostat to 72 in summer. I can afford my heating bills with geo thermal and chillers for my 8000 sq ft house. My herding dogs and LGD dogs enjoy the AC to.
Marc you Mcmansion there in Chevy Chase is old enough to that it isnt very well insulated and the HVAC is not very efficient. I recommend setting the temp at 82 degrees in summer time and running around in your Speedo. You paid over a million bucks for your palce you should have upgraded the windows, doors and HVAC.

What an idiot.

Oh joy! vaherder has come back as Fred.

Hello everyone, wanna be part of some kind of community, possible here? anyone here?