Last month, Alabama and surrounding states recorded sweltering hot temperatures. Companies such as the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) also recorded heavy power usages for the month of June due to more people turning their thermostats down. With the heat of the summer continuing, TVA is providing tips to Alabamians to help keep their energy bill down while staying cool.
The most effective way to decrease energy usage in the summer is turning up the thermostat. According to a blog from TVA, setting a thermostat between 75 and 78 degrees can make a difference in the power bill.
“The more folks use electricity, the more their energy bill is going to go up, and the HVAC system uses up a significant part of your energy bill each month,” said Adam May, a spokesperson for TVA.
The Alabama heat can make it difficult for some households to be comfortable with turning the air up, but May says that even turning the air up one degree can save money on the bill.
“I would just say you set your thermostat as high as you can and still feel comfortable, and that'll help you go a long way. Every degree you set your thermostat up can save you up to 3%,” said May.
Turning on the stove or the oven heats up homes and apartments, making it difficult for HVAC systems to keep up with cooling the space down. TVA recommends firing up the grill outside to avoid having the system working overtime and spiking up the bill.
“If you have a grill, think about cooking dinner outside and on the grill. And that will prevent from heating your house up with the stove or the oven, and that a lot of times makes the unit where it can't keep up, and has a hard time after that,” explained May.
Similarly, running the dishwasher, washing machine and clothes dryer at night rather than in the heat of the day can help the machines run more efficiently, saving even more money on energy cost.
Another tip for lowering the power bill is using fans. Both ceiling fans and floor fans help to keep air moving in a home, and they use a lot less power than air conditioning does.
Additionally, changing the direction of the fans can make it feel slightly cooler during the summer when it is needed the most.
“If you have a ceiling fan, turn it counterclockwise during the summer and clockwise during the winter, and that will cool you down. It won't actually cool the room, but it'll make you feel cooler. And that's an important distinction,” said May.
Lastly, regularly changing the air filter inside the home can improve energy efficiency and can extend the life of the HVAC unit by preventing it from overworking.
“If your filters are dirty, then it's not going to operate efficiently at all. It's going to have a hard time pulling that air through the system, and that can cost quite a bit more money and put a strain in your system to the point of issue, of malfunction. So we recommend changing those air filters, especially during the months when your unit runs a lot, at least once a month,” explained May.
The TVA has been serving Alabama by supplying energy to more than one million people in the state. For more info on TVA and their impact in Alabama, click here. For more tips from TVA on lowering the power bill while keeping cool, click here.
