Home Ownership Answers

Bryce has heard that gas appliances are cheaper to use and can lower utility costs. He is interested in purchasing a new gas stove for his kitchen to replace his electric stove. Assuming that the stove gets used one hour per day, use the following chart to determine how much Bryce will save each year in utility costs by purchasing the gas appliance.Electric Stove13 cents per hourGas Stove5 cents per hour

What is not an example of a cost related to home ownership?

Chloe lives in an area where she runs the air conditioner during the 4 hottest months of the year. The air conditioner runs for 7 hours per day at a cost of 21 cents per hour. How much does she spend per year on utility bills for the air conditioner?(Assume there are 30 days in each month)

The Hendersons have just bought a home that requires some monthly yard maintenance. They are trying to decide if they should hire a professional lawn care service to maintain the property or do it themselves. Below are the costs associated with both options:Professional Service OptionDo-It-Yourself Option$75 for the first month$250 lawnmower $45 per month after initial visit$135 edgerIncludes mowing and edging the lawn, trimming the bushes, and raking the leaves.$69 hedge trimmer $25 rakeHow long would it take before the Hendersons would recover their costs if they chose to do it themselves over the professional service?

The Reed and the Merrill families are comparing their utility costs for the past month. The following is a list of the appliances that the families are using to make their comparisons:Reed Family AppliancesMerrill Family AppliancesGas range5 cents per dayElectric range13 cents per dayGas dryer - 1 load per day10 cents per loadGas dryer - 1 load per day10 cents per loadElectric water heater90 cents per dayGas water heater40 cents per dayTypical later model refrigerator16 cents per dayEnergy Star-labeled refrigerator12 cents per dayAssuming that the families use the same appliances in the same way, who spends more to run these appliances in a given 30 day period and by how much?

Bryce has heard that gas appliances are cheaper to use and can lower utility costs. He is interested in purchasing a new gas stove for his kitchen to replace his electric stove. Assuming that the stove gets used one hour per day, use the following chart to determine how much Bryce will save each year in utility costs by purchasing the gas appliance.Electric Stove13 cents per hourGas Stove5 cents per hour

Budgeting for home maintenance early can save money in the long run. Why save early compared to later, especially if the home is new?

Chloe lives in an area where she runs the air conditioner during the 4 hottest months of the year. The air conditioner runs for 7 hours per day at a cost of 21 cents per hour. How much does she spend per year on utility bills for the air conditioner?(Assume there are 30 days in each month)

Li-Mei thinks she can save money on electricity by changing all her bulbs from incandescent bulbs to fluorescent bulbs. Based on the following energy cost table, how much can she save each year if she replaces 8 bulbs? Incandescent bulb - 150 hours monthly use $.05 per hour Fluorescent bulb - 150 hours monthly use $.02 per hour

The national average utility cost is $270.48 per month. If the average phone bill is 12.6% of the total amount and the average utility cost for Dallas is $326, what would be the cost of a typical Dallas home phone bill?

Isaiah is trying to decide if the interval use plan is better than the standard use plan for his electricity consumption. Calculate the monthly costs of both plans if he uses 1,275 kWh of electricity per month with 575 kWh on-peak usage and the rest off-peak usage.Standard Use PlanInterval Use Plan7.5 cents/kWh for the first 400 kWh10 cents/kWh for anything over 400 kWhOn-peak hours - 15 cents/kWhOff-peak hours - 3 cents/kWh

The Baum and the Freeman families are comparing their electric bills for the past month. The Baum family is on a standard use plan and the Freeman family is on an interval use plan. Each family’s usage is listed on the chart below:Standard Use PlanInterval Use Plan8.5 cents/kWh for the first 400 kWh12 cents/kWh for the next 400 kWh14.5 cents/kWh for anything over 800 kWhOn-peak hours - 13 cents/kWhOff-peak hours - 2 cents/kWhBoth families use 1250 kWh for the given 30 day period. The Freeman family uses 400 kWh during on-peak hours and 850 during off-peak hours. Which family ends up paying more for their utilities? How much more?

Samantha is trying to determine how she can save money by cutting her electricity bill. She is currently on a standard use plan for electricity and pays 8.5 cents per kWh. She keeps track of when she uses electricity and is thinking about switching to an interval use plan for electricity which costs 2 cents per kWh for off-peak use and 13 cents per kWh for on-peak use. Off-peak hours are from 8PM - 8AM and on-peak hours are from 8AM - 8PM. Below is the chart of her electricity usage:Samantha’s Electricity Usage Per Month1100 kWh between 8PM and 8AM800 kWh between 8AM and 8PMExplain and justify which plan would best suit her needs.