As Electric Bill Soar, Homeowners Search for Ways to Stay Cool

It’s summer, and as the temperature rises, so too do energy bills.

According to a recent survey from SupplyHouse, nearly three out of four homeowners (77%) say summer energy bills are causing them financial stress. Additionally, 65% say they’ve already cut back on things like dining out/takeout (49%), shopping (35%), subscriptions (27%) and even groceries (18%) to offset increased energy costs.

The result is that many homeowners are searching for ways to stay cool without breaking the bank.

“I will admit I’ve been in front of the fridge longer than any grown adult should just to feel something cold on my face,” says Grant Wycliff, president of technology infrastructure provider Carolina Georgia Sound. “Georgia summers are not to be trifled with. This year I made a deal with myself that I wasn’t turning the AC on until I absolutely had to, and I held out until the house hit 84 degrees at 9pm on a Tuesday.”

Wycliffe isn’t alone in trying to delay turning in the AC to save money. In fact, 39% of surveyed homeowners admitted to trying that tactic, among others like relying on fans and reducing use of appliances.

But while creative, not all of these strategies are effective. Read on to learn which cooling tricks SupplyHouse found homeowners are trying, and if they might actually make you more comfortable and save a buck or two, or simply aren’t worth the sweat.

Using fans instead of HVAC (46% try this method)

While fans and HVAC both burn electricity, which one saves more degrees and dough?

The best answer is a mixture of the two. Fans do use electricity but much less than an HVAC system. The biggest thing to remember, though, is that fans don’t cool rooms, they cool people. A fan won’t actually lower the temperature of a room at all. However, fans provide a windchill effect because moving air feels much cooler than stagnant air.

“Because fans directly make you feel cooler, you can have your AC set to higher temperatures which will mean the system will have to run less,” says Ryan Osterkamp, owner of Quality Comfort Home Services. “Just don’t bother running fans in empty rooms because you’ll be burning energy—still way less than your central AC system—with no actual benefit.” 

Also, never put a wet towel, or anything wet, directly on a fan! Electricity and water should never be combined. It’s a severe fire and electric shock hazard.

“A much safer option is to put a damp towel on yourself, lay on a damp towel, or place the damp towel in front of the fan and sit nearby,” says TJ Laury, a licensed HVAC technician and president of Ben’s ProServ. “The moving air from the fan hitting the damp towel will create an evaporation effect that will make you feel cooler.”

Turning up the thermostat to a higher temp (46%)

Turns out turning the temperature up a few notches actually works if saving money on your electricity bill is the goal. The trick, however, is to find balance.

While 15% of homeowners in the SupplyHouse study reported that they were sleeping in uncomfortable heat to avoid running the AC at night, this actually won’t save as much as one might think. Especially since the HVAC will have to work harder in the a.m. to re-cool the house.

Instead, ‘set it and forget it’ at the highest temperature you’re comfortable versus frequently adjusting it up or down, suggests Jamie Jensen, vice president of Air Control Home Services in Lake Havasu City, AZ. “AC settings which are in constant flux, being adjusted too often or turned on/off, are often the most expensive way to cool your house and set up the most risk to fail—something no one wants during a heat wave,” says Jensen.

It’s also good to keep in mind “The Rule of 20” in home cooling, according to Alex Marsh, CEO of Bearcat Heating & Cooling in Spokane WA, who explains that AC units are designed to maintain interiors no more than 20% below the outside temperature. So, with that math, a perfect temperature for your thermostat is 10 to 20 degrees below the outside temp.

“If it’s 85 degrees Fahrenheit outside, your thermostat can easily sit at 70 to 75 degrees and cycle only a few times an hour minimizing your cost and maximizing the efficiency of the unit,” explains Marsh. “As temps rise though to let’s say 102 degrees, your thermostat should not be set below 82 degrees or it will run all day and all night to stay cool. That leads to very large electric bills and increased wear on the units.”

Stephen Evans, the founder of Costwise, agrees that raising your home’s temperature is the single most effective “free” thing you can do to lower your energy costs. He calculates that for every degree you raise the thermostat above 72°F (22°C), you save up to 3% on your cooling bills.

Delaying turning on the AC for the season (39%)

While waiting to turn on your AC for the summer is one way to save money (like Wycliffe tried this year), it’s really not about how long a person can hold out. Quite simply, the less you run your system, the lower your energy bills.

“Turning on your AC at the start of the season won’t burn any more electricity than turning it on halfway into the season—it doesn’t take extra energy to start up the AC for the first time,” says Osterkamp. “If your overall goal to delaying turning on the AC is to just tough out warmer temps until it’s too uncomfortable for you, that’s a fine approach, but it’s one that can carry you through the entire hot season and not just the start.” 

A better bet than forcing a delay might be biting the bullet and having your HVAC serviced early. Especially since SupplyHouse found that 50% of homeowners either suspect an HVAC inefficiency or have a known problem they’ve left unaddressed.

“What actually matters way more: did you change your filter, is your unit due for a tune up, when’s the last time someone cleaned your condenser coils?” says Stan Pakarin, CEO at Fuse Service. “I’ve gone to houses where the AC hadn’t been serviced in three years and it’s straining so hard it’s basically heating the house a little while trying to cool it. Get a tune-up, that’ll save you more than delaying by two weeks ever will.”

Trying not to use heat-generating appliances (38%)

Avoiding heat generating appliances is never a bad idea in the summer if you’re trying to stay cool, and it may shave money off your bill as well.

“Absolutely do this, particularly during the hottest part of the day—which is 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. in most areas,” says Laury. “Avoid using your washer/dryer, dishwasher, and oven during this window because the heat they generate could raise the room temperature by 2 to 5 degrees, which your AC now has to fight against.”

Jensen agrees and recommends using heat-generating appliances in the mornings or later in the evenings. “Our local utility charges more for energy usage during ‘peak’ demand, which is typically in the late afternoon and early evening, so avoiding increased energy consumption during this time should help on your power bill,” says Jensen.

Wycliffe said to save money on his energy costs this summer he stopped using the oven after June 1st, and it worked. “Everything goes on the grill outside or in the air fryer and if it can’t be cooked that way then I guess we’re not eating it,” jokes Wycliffe who adds that on a serious note, it has actually lowered his bill. “I think that swap alone knocked a real dent in the bill, about $40 to $50, and kept the house from feeling like a furnace by 7:00 p.m.”

Shutting vents or avoiding cooling certain rooms (26%)

Many homeowners try to control where the cold air flows in their home by shutting vents and closing off certain rooms. Unfortunately, this one backfires and won’t do much for lowering energy costs. In fact, it might even increase them if the HVAC breaks.

“Closing your vents to save money is actually a pretty common myth in the HVAC world,” says Osterkamp, who explains that your AC is designed to pump out a specific volume of air based on the square footage of your home. As such, when you close vents, the AC is still going to pump out the same amount of volume as it’s designed, but the air is just going to have fewer places to go.

“The ductwork is not designed to redirect all of the blocked airflow specifically to the open vents,” says Osterkamp. “Air will still enter the duct branches leading to the closed vents.” This will lead to pressure buildup in the ducts and that can actually make airflow worse, not better.

“This is the one I actually have to warn people about because if you have a central system, closing vents in unused rooms does not save money the way people think,” says Pakarin. “Instead it can actually mess with the airflow balance and pressure in your ductwork and make your system work harder, and sometimes even damage the blower over time.”

The better bet here is to keep all vents open. If you want true room-by-room control, look into a multi-split ductless system next time you upgrade.

The bottom line is that keeping it cool this summer doesn’t require any crazy moves. But following some of the above advice can help keep your energy costs in check.