How to keep your air conditioning costs down while keeping cool this summer
It can be expensive to keep cool during the summertime.
A new report by Sense, a home energy monitoring company, analyzed 1,600 homes across the U.S. and surveyed the costs of air conditioning based on location, among other factors. The analysis found costs varied by home size, where a person lives and utility billing rates.
The survey found those living along the southern coast, including Texas, Florida and Arizona paid the most to keep cool during the summer. Arizona led the list with the highest cost of cooling at around $477. New Jersey was also expensive “due to a combination of higher-than-average AC usage and high utility costs,” the analysis stated. Texas, Florida, Georgia, Connecticut, New York, Kansas, Maryland and Rhode Island rounded out the top ten respectively.
States like Washington, Colorado and Oregon had low cooling costs.
To cut down on cooling costs, Sense noted the bigger the home, the more expensive it will be to chill.
“Homes larger than 4,000 square feet jump to $227 in median cooling costs over the summer, a 71 percent increase, and the top 25 percent of those 4,000+ homes pay a whopping $463 on cooling for the summer, on average,” the analysis stated.
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To cut down on costs, Sense suggested replacing an oversized HVAC system with a smaller one since the larger ones can drive up energy costs.
However, an undersized HVAC system could also increase costs if it’s running all day and not reaching the desired temperature. The company said setting the HVAC thermostat “a degree higher each day” can help keep the electric bill low while finding a good cooling temperature. The survey also warned consumers to remember to turn off their HVAC systems or get a smart remote for the devices.