The day after Thanksgiving, our apartment smells like leftover stuffing and the baseboard heater in the bedroom is ticking as it warms up. That ticking is the sound of winter in our building. It's also, I've learned, the sound of money.
Our apartment is all-electric. No gas line, no radiator, no boiler in the basement doing the work for everyone. Heat comes from electric baseboard units under the windows, the stove is electric, and in summer we run two window AC units. Every degree we ask for shows up on one bill. Since a few people have asked what that actually looks like, here are our real numbers and what we've changed.
The numbers from our first full year
We moved in during October 2023, so 2024 into 2025 was our first time seeing a complete cycle. A rough picture:
| Period | What the bill looked like |
|---|---|
| Summer average (two window ACs) | About $85 a month |
| Highest summer month (August 2025) | $112 |
| Spring and fall | Our lowest months, when neither heat nor AC runs much |
| Highest winter month (January 2025) | $142 |
For a lot of people $142 won't sound dramatic. For a 640-square-foot apartment it surprised me, because the bill at my old studio across town was a fraction of that. That building had steam heat included in the rent, which I took completely for granted.
We split rent and bills proportionally to income: I pay 45% and Sam pays 55%. So that January bill was about $64 for me and $78 for him. Not a disaster, but enough that we started paying attention.
Why baseboard heat costs what it does
I'm not an engineer, but here's what I've pieced together from reading our bill and paying attention. Electric baseboard heaters turn electricity directly into heat. They're simple and quiet, but heating with electricity tends to cost more per unit of warmth than many other options. Each heater in our place has its own dial, so there's no central thermostat and nothing clever happening behind the scenes. If a dial is on, that room is heating.
Our building has a few things in its favor. It's brick, and with neighbors beside us and below us, a little of their warmth seems to reach our floors and walls. Against us: older windows, and north-facing living room windows that never get winter sun.
What we actually changed
None of this is expensive or permanent. We rent, so anything that involves tools or new fixtures is off the table.
Heat the room you're in
This is the big one. During the day I work in the living room, so that heater runs and the bedroom heater stays on its lowest setting. In the evening we flip it: bedroom goes up an hour before bed, living room goes down. Because every room has its own control, this is easy once it becomes a habit.
Close the doors
We keep the bedroom door closed in winter, which helps one room stay warm instead of letting heat drift around the whole place. The bathroom door, too, after showers.
Window film on the worst windows
Last November we put shrink-on plastic film over the two living room windows. It costs about $15 for a kit, goes on with double-sided tape and a hair dryer, and peels off in spring. The cold draft you feel sitting next to the window basically disappeared. We checked with our landlord first; he said, more or less, "please do."
Rugs and layers
Our floors are old hardwood and they're cold. A thrifted rug in the living room and a heavy blanket that lives on the couch from November to March mean we're comfortable a few degrees cooler than we'd otherwise want.
Watch the big draws
The oven gets used less in January; the slow cooker, toaster oven and stovetop get used more. Apart from four days earlier this month, when the bedroom heater died and our landlord okayed a borrowed space heater until it was fixed, we don't run one. It was tempting for my desk, but I'm wary of them in an old building and it would just be adding another electric draw. Wool socks it is.
What I'd tell myself two winters ago
Before signing a lease on an all-electric apartment, I wish I'd asked the landlord or a neighbor what a January bill usually runs. I'd still have taken this place. I love it. But I would have budgeted for winter instead of being startled by it.
I'd also have started the room-by-room habit from day one instead of leaving every heater on medium all season because it felt easier.
This winter is the first one where we're going in with a plan. The film is back up on the windows, the blanket is on the couch, and Olive has already claimed the warm strip of floor in front of the bedroom heater. I'll check back in once the January bill arrives and report honestly, whatever it says.
