AC units and electric bills

So I moved into an apartment recently. The electric bill for the final 12 days of June came to $45. Extrapolated over an entire month, that's about $115. Considering the house I sold recently never went above about $80, and was twice the size, how is that possible?

It must be the AC, because that's the only thing running during the day when I work, and I set the thermostat to 85.

I just wanted to rant. I'm pissed and don't understand how a small apartment could cost so much.

 

I pay $125/month and I don't have AC.

 

How old is the refrigerator?

 

Does the fridge make that much difference? It's old as hell, but I didn't think it made that big a difference since it's only keeping a few square feet of space cold.

 

A refrigerator - especially an old one - eats massive amounts of electricity. And you're also expecting it to keep things cold in a really hot (85) apartment. It's probably running constantly.

Short term, try turning it down. Medium term, be sure to clean the coils. Long term, ask your landlord if you can have a better, newer one.

 

The last time I had to deal with moving into a unit and seeing a partial-month bill, I got hosed badly. Still never got an explanation for a bill that --- when extrapolated --- would be twice as high as any I had ever been sent. I even tried to calculate the "per/kwhr usage" to see what the problem was.

But in all subsequent months the bill was normal.

 

Aren't there startup fees or new account/transfer fees that could account for the higher, partial month bill?

 

Might also want to replace the rubber lining around the door. Simple check. Put a dollar bill halfway in and halfway out and close the door. If you can pull it out, air is leaking out.

 

I've done a bit more research, and I plan to go home and do some things to the fridge, like cleaning the coils, to hopefully help it. It's old, though, and I read somewhere that a new, modern, energy efficient fridge costs about $4 a month, but old ones can cost up to $15/month.

It's got to be either the fridge or the AC. Those and an alarm clock are the only things running during the day.

 

Water heater. Electric or gas?

 

We went from an 800 sq. foot apartment with just a/c, dishwasher fridge, etc to an apartment that is 1140 sq feet with a washer and dryer. Our bill is actually a bit cheaper now in the summer than the old place.