“Why is my electric bill so high in the summer?”—the rhetorical question we all ask as we review our monthly bills with great exasperation. The short answer, of course, is that you’ve switched from a gas-powered furnace to electric air conditioning. However, there’s a longer answer for when mere AC usage doesn’t account for a meteoric rise in electricity costs.
A Malfunctioning Air Conditioner
There’s a lot that can go wrong with an air conditioning unit during its winter hibernation period. It can become clogged with debris. Its refrigerant fluid can leak, throwing its operations out of balance. A unit can even overwork itself and cause the evaporator coils to freeze over. A common consequence of AC malfunctioning is a phenomenon known as “short-cycling,” in which an air conditioner runs a series of frequent but interrupted cycles, which expend a great deal of electricity in starting and stopping without sufficiently cooling the home. This case of an overworked AC unit can run up your bills and leave you feeling uncomfortable on those hot and humid days. If your air conditioner is short-cycling, don’t just shrug it off as a condition of summer—the strain that short-cycling places on a unit could lead to a premature failure and replacement. Talk about some big bills.
Changes in Usage Patterns
A bumped-up electric bill isn’t all about the AC. For families who sent their kids back to on-campus school this year, having the kids back around the house after school’s out for summer can subtly manifest itself in the electric bill. More time at home means more time watching television, sitting on the computer, playing video games, or otherwise using electronics. No school also means staying up deep into the night, which often means more electricity usage.
That Dumb Thermostat
As usage patterns change around the house, your thermostat should try to keep up with them. If you haven’t installed a smart thermostat yet, you could be paying more for electricity in the summer months than you need to. Perhaps one reason your electric bill is so high in the summer is that you haven’t made this leap. A smart thermostat learns your patterns around the house and adjusts the HVAC system accordingly. After a modest upfront investment, this can save you money not only through the summer heat but all year long.