That dreaded day when you open your electricity bill for the summer and see the number that’s so off you have to check your account twice. It happens to everyone. But what makes it worse is that the jump from spring to summer isn’t gradual. It’s like jumping off a cliff and suddenly you’re at $300 instead of $150 and for what?
Air conditioning comes to mind as the primary culprit. But air conditioning isn’t the only reason your electric bill spikes and, in fact, knowing what else is behind the scenes helps you do something about it without melting in your home.
The Air Conditioning Conundrum (Yes, It’s A Big One)
Typically, air conditioning is responsible for 50-70% of summer energy expenses in excessively hot climates. This makes sense; your system is running anywhere from 12-16 hours a day just to keep the place inside somewhat tolerable.
But what’s worse is not necessarily how much it runs. It’s how much it needs to work. When it’s 110-degrees outside and you want it 75-degrees inside, that’s a 35-degree discrepancy; when it’s 80-degrees outside and 72-degrees inside, that’s an 8-degree difference. The closer the temperatures are, the more it’s manageable. This means that air conditioning needs to expend even more energy to combat high exterior temperatures.
Additionally, most systems become less efficient with age. A unit that has been running fine for eight years may pull 15-20% more power than originally intended – and you’d never know until your bill comes in. But if systems don’t get maintenance checks, it gets worse; dirty coils, low refrigerant, clogged filters all force systems to work harder than they need to. Companies that offer HVAC services like Platinum Air Heating & Cooling find even the most minor details causing systems to exert 10%-20% more energy just because they’re working against themselves for preventable issues.
Little Known Contributors
Air conditioning isn’t the only culprit.
When it comes to the refrigerator, it gets hotter in the kitchen – meaning the refrigerator has to run even colder. Same with the freezer. If the appliances are over ten years old, however, they’re already not functioning as optimally as they could and compounded with summer heat, it’s worse.
Furthermore, people are home more in the summer; kids are home from school, people are inside during peak sun hours, they’re cooking more, showering more frequently, washing clothes more often, all before factoring in air conditioning.
Plus, electronics emit heat. TVs, computers, gaming devices, phone chargers – all emit heat so that cooling systems have to dissipate even further to keep the rooms cool enough from ambient temperature increases. Again, these aren’t extremely powerful pieces contributing their share but they add up.
Time-of-Use Restrictions
In some locales there are time-of-use rates; a peak price average for electricity costs when demand is highest (usually early afternoons and evenings). If your air conditioner is running at its hottest when prices are at their highest, now you’re not only paying for consumption at high averages but you’re also contributing more because of general high consumption from air conditioning use.
If you receive a bill for $300 and had only used $275 worth of energy, this means you’re generally paying 25% higher rates than your consumption indicates.
And most people don’t even realize they’re in a time-of-use period – as few ever check their rate structure. The utility company isn’t sending out notifications that you’re getting peak prices; there’s no reason to send one when everyone’s rate structure is available online.
What Actually Works
Raising the thermostat does help – but not by much. Instead of setting it at 72-degrees (which is comfortable) and ideally keeping it at 75-degrees (which is tolerable but uncomfortable), a slight increase will cut cooling costs for an air conditioning unit by 10%-15%. This is substantial dollar savings, but not necessarily half off.
Where cutting costs more effectively take place is how well the system runs. Systems are as good as their filters and many people don’t realize how beneficial clean filters are. If a filter is clogged it means airflow isn’t optimal and systems need to run longer to achieve the same temperatures. Adjusting filters monthly during peak months isn’t excessive; it’s necessary.
Shade can make a world of difference, when windows are getting blasted with sun during peak hours of day there’s no reason to even attempt air conditioning after the fact. Blackout shades on specific windows, outdoor shades or overhangs all can reduce cooling potential by 15-20%. It’s substantially easier to keep heat out than cool off what’s already been blasted.
The other major factor is leaking air throughout the house, most homes leak around windows, doors, outlets or any place where piping and wiring enter the house. In summer this means hot air comes in while cool air leaves. Little gaps add up across an entire home. Weather stripping doors and windows take about $50 worth of products and actually work.
The Misplaced Solutions
There are plenty of solutions that actually don’t do anything:
Running ceiling fans in empty rooms doesn’t do anything. Ceiling fans cool people because they blow across skin; they don’t cool rooms down. If no one’s there, you’re just wasting energy.
Turning down temperature really low doesn’t make it cool any faster. If someone wants 75-degrees in their house and sets it to 65-degrees it will just waste energy until it achieves goal temperature; it’s better not to overshoot because it’s easy to make a room too cold.
Closing vents in rooms that aren’t in use seems logical; however, most units aren’t designed that way and close off too many vents that create pressure that reduce overall efficiency by use of larger systems and tighter channels, meaning even more energy is wasted.
When Issues Arise from Systems
Sometimes it’s not a matter of use patterns or maintenance, but that the system is wrong for the house altogether. Too small units run nonstop while too large units cycle on and off too frequently without the proper dehumidifying effect (although this isn’t an issue in dryer climates).
If units are over 12-15 years old and bills continue to spike regardless of proper use patterns and maintenance requirements, newer systems from Lennox, Trane or Goodman can actually pay for themselves. New units are far more efficient; a 20-year old unit with a SEER rating of 10 versus a new one with a SEER rating of 16 means a 40% less cooling expense.
But there’s also no reason to assume that just because expensive means efficient. Higher rated SEER models come at higher price points, and depending on how often an AC runs, it could mean paying back amounts in 15-20 years, meaning for people who want highly-efficient units regardless of expense have no idea how often they have them cranking out.
The Realistic Outcome
There is no magic solution to effective summer bills; it’s instead a matter of small things compounding together.
Up to 25-35% of costs can be reduced realistically based upon decreased heat gain through window holes/crawls/areas, proper management of air systems (dirt increases running costs) and being aware of cheap fixes like weather stripping windows/doors before acquiring knowledge on expensive alternatives (like replacing aged AC filters).
This doesn’t mean your bill still won’t be double what it was in winter; in excessively hot climates that’s the cost of living comfortably within one’s home. But $350 versus $250 is realistic savings over three months, and especially ideas found over blog conjecture that don’t require major investments or changes.
It’s instead focusing on what works versus socially constructed answers that sound good but don’t move the dial one way or another. Your home situation depends on your home, your system and your climate. What’s good for Phoenix isn’t good for Houston – but understanding where your energy actually escapes gives you a fighting chance.
