Average Cost of Utilities per month

[rexwrx]

hi,

i'd like to find out the average cost of utilities per month for a landed property, 3 Bedrooms for

> Electricity
> Gas
> Water

others?


Thanks.

[rexwrx]

anyone has any ideas please?

[road.not.taken]

It's been debated before here on the forum (do a search) and you haven't provided enough information:

How many people live in the house?

Are there people home all day?

Square footage?

Air/cons?

Eat-in or eat-out?

Leave hot water heaters on all the time?

Shady & breezy or sunny & still?

Too many variables to answer accurately, unless you are interested in this kind of answer: $300 - $2500.

[sundaymorningstaple]

[x9200]

hi,

i'd like to find out the average cost of utilities per month for a landed property, 3 Bedrooms for
> Electricity
> Gas
> Water
others?

http://forum.singaporeexpats.com/ftopic63811.html

[rexwrx]

of course, i had done searches but nothing what i'm looking for.

Ok, here's the specs:

> 3 Bedroom terrace, 2 levels, 3 air-conditioning upstairs (each room has 1), 1x air conditioning living area only.

> family of 4, myself, wife, the second-wife (just kidding), 1x 5 yo, 1x 1 yo children. average 5 days work week, would be only 3x. they'd be out, maybe on average at home abt 5 hrs.

> air-cond use will be minimal (probably ave 3 hrs peak, and 5 hrs off-peak during night)

> 186 sqm (built-in) or abt 2000 sqft

> eat-in! wife is great cook. maybe anyone wants to come over?

> i'd be showering in cold water. so heater water is minimal use

> quite breezy, since behind the house is like a small area with lots of trees and grass.


I'm interested in the Cost of Utilities Per MONTH or Per ANNUM for these:

> ELECTRICITY

> WATER

> Gas (we will have gas supply to the stove in cylinders)


thanks!!!

It's been debated before here on the forum (do a search) and you haven't provided enough information:

How many people live in the house?

Are there people home all day?

Square footage?

Air/cons?

Eat-in or eat-out?

Leave hot water heaters on all the time?

Shady & breezy or sunny & still?

Too many variables to answer accurately, unless you are interested in this kind of answer: $300 - $2500.

[beppi]

Aircon usage is the major factor here, the rest is minor.
I had in the past, with NO aircon usage at all, utility bills of below S$100/month, but people I know had S$400 and above in a similar constellation with aircon.

[mrsfingers]

We are a couple with no children who have lived in 2 different 3 bed condos (1500-1800 sq m) over the last 2 years, over which our utility bills averaged $330 per month (range $220-420). Higher bills during hotter months and when we had visitors!

90%+ of the monthly bill is electricity, i.e. aircon. (Our first place did not get the afternoon sun so we used minimal AC during the day. However we have always used AC throughout the night in our bedroom. It's just too hot and sweaty otherwise!)

Water/sewage $30 per month
Gas: negligible. One bottle lasts for ages. In our last place we had citigas (inbuilt supply) - our gas bill was asbout $5 per month (and we cook a lot!).

[rexwrx]

thanks! sounds like on average, most of the costs come from air-conditioning and/or other electrical appliances like water heater.

anyone has got average util bills per month for a terrace unit? there's not much of garden space, so water usage will be minimal.

cheers,

We are a couple with no children who have lived in 2 different 3 bed condos (1500-1800 sq m) over the last 2 years, over which our utility bills averaged $330 per month (range $220-420). Higher bills during hotter months and when we had visitors!

90%+ of the monthly bill is electricity, i.e. aircon. (Our first place did not get the afternoon sun so we used minimal AC during the day. However we have always used AC throughout the night in our bedroom. It's just too hot and sweaty otherwise!)

Water/sewage $30 per month
Gas: negligible. One bottle lasts for ages. In our last place we had citigas (inbuilt supply) - our gas bill was asbout $5 per month (and we cook a lot!).

[beppi]

My post above was for a terrace house with tiny garden and four people living, both for the low and high bill I mentioned.

Our bills of below S$100/month (average) jumped up to over S$150/month when one of the house-mates started using the aircon in his room at night.

[rexwrx]

My post above was for a terrace house with tiny garden and four people living, both for the low and high bill I mentioned.

Our bills of below S$100/month (average) jumped up to over S$150/month when one of the house-mates started using the aircon in his room at night.

cool thanks! what abt family size? was it family of 4 as well? 2 kids?

cheers,

[Girl_Next_Door]

Comparing a terrace house is a good start but it may not be entirely accurate.

The age and condition of the house you are staying will also play a factor. Some of the older terrace houses have very old air-con models that consume a substantially more electricity compared to newer models, even though the consumption is similar.

You may predict that you will use about 8 hours of air-con daily conservatively but the actual consumption will really depends on the actual temperature of Singapore. Last week, the temperature was as high as 35 degree before it start to rain these couple of days. I seriously doubt you can maintain 8 hours of air-con daily, especially when there are young kids.

The same goes for lights. Some houses have few but powerful lights, while there are some houses that have a few dozen spot lights in the house. I am staying in a 2-bedroom apartment and I have almost 30 different lights (including spot lights spread over living room and bedrooms).

Conservatively, you should budget $500-$800 for your first 2-3 months utility, and try to work your way down to conserving energy. My electrical bill used to be $400 but I managed to get it down to slightly below $200 nowadays.

[cbavasi]

Girl Next Door - Couldn't agree with you more. It really could depend on the efficiency of the appliances in your home... for a terraced house and family of four budget 500 and go from there.

[rexwrx]

thanks for the information again and sharing your experiences. We really want to conserve as much electrical expenses as we possibly can, but not to the detriment of our welfare i suppose.

so looks like again, air-conditioning is the major utilities expenses contributor in the house, regardless of age, type of house etc. I think the air-conditioning in our place is not that old, but it could be old enough to be not energy efficient. But then again, we will limit the use since the kids would feel too cold.

What did you do to get your bills to go down from $400 to $200?

Comparing a terrace house is a good start but it may not be entirely accurate.

The age and condition of the house you are staying will also play a factor. Some of the older terrace houses have very old air-con models that consume a substantially more electricity compared to newer models, even though the consumption is similar.

You may predict that you will use about 8 hours of air-con daily conservatively but the actual consumption will really depends on the actual temperature of Singapore. Last week, the temperature was as high as 35 degree before it start to rain these couple of days. I seriously doubt you can maintain 8 hours of air-con daily, especially when there are young kids.

The same goes for lights. Some houses have few but powerful lights, while there are some houses that have a few dozen spot lights in the house. I am staying in a 2-bedroom apartment and I have almost 30 different lights (including spot lights spread over living room and bedrooms).

Conservatively, you should budget $500-$800 for your first 2-3 months utility, and try to work your way down to conserving energy. My electrical bill used to be $400 but I managed to get it down to slightly below $200 nowadays.

[rexwrx]

what about TV (we've got plasma tv)? and PC? do they chew up the electricity bill too?