The Secret To Lowering Summertime Electric Bills
Posted on September 17, 2007 by Melissa
Filed Under Frugality, Household
We were thrilled to see the electric bill come in the mail these summer months. We used to dread those bills but not any more. We have made some major changes in the way we consume energy and we’re delighted to see how our efforts have saved us money.
I couldn’t believe my eyes when I compared the bills from this year and last year. Check it out:
| July 2006 | $325.03 | August 2006 | $357.81 |
| July 2007 | $161.19 | August 2007 | $164.90 |
| Savings | $163.84 or 50% | Savings | $192.91 or 54% |
How did we do it? I’m sure a lot of little things added up to that success, like turning off the lights and the TV when not in use, unplugging unused appliances, and changing to CFLs. Although all the steps we took were important the change that had the most impact on our electric bill was reducing our use of A/C this summer.
We live in the south so just turning off the air conditioner and opening the windows is not a reasonable option. It gets hot here, folks. And we happen to both like it cold. Really cold. Last year at this time, we would have the A/C cranked at 68-70 degrees all day and all night. It was constantly running, trying to keep up with the demand against the 100 degree heat.
When we created a budget and made some financial goals for ourselves this year we realized our summer electric bills were out of control. We knew we had to make some radical changes in our A/C usage. In the spring we decided to start gradually weaning ourselves off the super-low temps, relying more on fans rather than A/C cooling. By the time June hit we had adjusted to life at 76 degrees. That may not seem very high to some, but for us that is huge. Normally, we would find this unbearable but the standing fans really made a difference. They use less energy and keep us cool by circulating the air. They really do work.
I’m not saying that we are always completely comfortable. Some nights, I must admit, I long for the cool 68 degree air of last year, but all-in-all it’s not so bad. We are adjusting well and by August we were up to 78 degrees. We feel it is a challenge now, which makes me smile.
Even if we can’t tolerate much higher temps than 78 degrees we have already made quite a difference in our energy consumption. Getting used to warmer temperatures and using less A/C has allowed us to slash our energy bills in half. I’d call that a fantastic success.
Image Source: aw223
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Good ideas! As someone who grew up in the deep South and was used to freezing cold nights thanks to the AC, even in the midst of summer, learning how to keep the house in the mid-70s is tough, but it works. My wife and I decided to work our tolerance up into the 75-76 range a couple of years ago and now I find 68-70 to be too cold. I really got used to the 76ish range, and we - like you - have saved TONS. It cut our electric bill by up to 60% one month this year compared to last year - which is a nice bit of extra change!
I hear you! We have saved over $350 in just in 2 months. It’s incredible! Keeping the temp just a little higher sure helps with the bills.
Thanks for commenting!