How to Estimate Your Electricity Bill by Square Footage

Your Location

Where you live in Texas will play a huge role in your monthly electric bill.

1. Deregulated area (85% of the state) vs. regulated area. There’s no strict answer as to which is more expensive b. In deregulated areas: you play a role in choosing your rate and plan – which will directly affect your bill
2. Urban areas vs. small towns
   a. Demand for electricity in urban areas can increase the market price of electricity

Your Plan Type

What kind of electricity plan do you have?

If you live in a deregulated area of Texas, you likely have several options – all of which affect the rate you pay per kWh

Here is a brief overview of a few electricity plan types:

1. Fixed-rate Plan

a. The rate you agree to at the start of your contract remains the same for the entire length of your contract

2. Variable-rate Plan

a. Your rate can fluctuate monthly based on the market rate of electricity in your area

• Save when the market is low but pay more when market rates are high

3. Prepaid Plan

a. Purchase your electricity in advance

Monitor your usage ‘bank’ and purchase more electricity as your ‘bank’ depletes

b. Rates can be fixed or variable

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Average Electricity Usage in Texas by Square Foot

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, “The average U.S. household consumes about 11,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) [of electricity] per year.”

How does Texas compare to the rest of the U.S.?

Using the average square footage of homes in each of Texas’ largest cities and the average energy consumption of consumers in those cities, we can ESTIMATE the projected monthly electricity usage for homes of all sizes in Texas:

Average Energy Usage in Texas – kWh per month

These numbers are only estimates, and accuracy is not guaranteed. But they can be used to help approximate your monthly electric bill while you’re comparing available electricity plans in your area.

The size of your home is not the only element that affects energy usage in your household. Let’s look at a few other components.

Every Household is Unique

Every home, family, and lifestyle is unique. The variables that can affect energy usage are innumerable.

In addition to appliance use and lighting in your home, a few of the largest variables are:

• Energy sources in your home
• Number of occupants in your home
• Age of your home
• Design of your home

We’ll briefly discuss how each of these factors can affect your energy usage and in turn, your monthly bill.

Energy Source(s)

Many homes in Texas use both electricity and natural gas. The energy source required to power your most ‘energy-hungry ’ appliances will be a big player in your energy usage.

For example, let’s say you and your neighbor both live in 2,000sq ft homes. Your furnace and clothes dryer is powered by natural gas, while your neighbor’s are electric.

Your appliance-based electricity usage will likely be lower than your neighbor’s, which will be reflected on your monthly bill.

So, even though you live in the same neighborhood, in similar homes, your electricity bills will be different.

Number of Occupants

The number of occupants in your home and how they spend their time is a major contributor to electricity usage.

Think about everything you and your family do in your home that consumes electricity:

• Watching T.V. and movies
• Playing video games
• Working on a computer
• Charging devices
• Doing laundry
• Cooking

The more people who live in your home, the more laundry there is. More devices to charge, etc.

Age of Your Home

How does the age of a home affect energy usage?

An older home may have inadequate or deteriorated insulation – requiring HVAC systems to work harder to keep the home warm or cool.

Newer homes may have energy-efficient appliances – which consume less energy, and fully-sealed windows – which help maintain the set temperature in your home.

Home Design

The design of your home matters too:

1. Multi-story homes may be hotter upstairs and require your A.C. to run for an extended time.
2. Multi-story homes might have dual-zone systems that isolate spaces, allowing your HVAC system to use less energy.
3. Homes with deep crawl spaces might lead to drafty living spaces.

The list can go on and on.

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Are You Paying Too Much? Are You Asking “How Much Should My Electric Bill Be?”

The electricity market in Texas is hard to follow and even harder to understand.

Electric bills can be very high.

Retail Electric Providers are plentiful – as are their multitude of plan choices. It can be very difficult to know if you’re in the best plan for your unique needs.

Deciding to research your options can be a difficult decision to make because you KNOW how much work it’s going to be.

How to Find an Electric Plan that Works for Your Square Footage

It is possible to find an electricity plan that works for your square footage and other specific usage needs.

You can do it on your own. We won’t tell you that going this route is easy. Or quick. Because…it’s just not.

You can use a electricity comparison site like Power Wizard.

Let’s review both options in detail.

Method 1: Manually Research REPs in Your Area

If you decide to tackle this project on your own, you’ll first need to spend hours, or even days, researching all the REPs in your area.

You can do this while hunched over your laptop or tablet. Or you can make never-ending phone calls.

Either way, you’ll need to be thorough. Find out:

• What types of plans each REP offers
• What the rates are for each of those plans
• What fees will be added to your monthly bill
• What the contract length will be
• What promotional incentives are offered

Don’t skip a company. Research every single one. You never know what you might miss if you decide to cut your research short.

Now, Compile Your Findings

Design a comprehensive spreadsheet to compile all the REP information you gather during your research phase.

All the columns. All the rows. The headers. The formulas. It will be a thing of beauty when you’re done…if you ever finish.

Spend Days or Weeks Comparing Plans and Rates to Your Specific Needs

What are your specific electricity usage needs? Do you:

1. Watch a lot of T.V.?
2. Spend time gaming?
3. Wash 13 loads of laundry every week?
4. Spend your weekends away from home?
5. Work from a home office?
6. Sleep during the day because you work the night shift?

You’ll need to take all sorts of factors into consideration when comparing your needs to that spreadsheet of details you meticulously created.

Method 2: Use a Comparison Site

Instead of spending a ridiculous amount of time trying to researching  each energy company and looking into the electricity plans they offer, why not spend five or ten minutes looking at all of that in one place?

Enter a few key pieces of information and let Power Wizard technology do all the work for you.

How Can Power Wizard Help You Get the Most out of Your Square Footage?

Power Wizard can help save money and time by facilitating all the the research, allowing you to compare rates and energy companies in one place.