Tips on how to lower your power bill amid CSRA’s heat wave
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - On these hot days, you may be running the air conditioner non-stop and that means higher power bills.
We talked with Georgia Power about the impact the heat is having on family budgets this summer.
Some people have seen their bills double.
“We have four techs, and each of us usually does about six to eight calls every day. So pretty busy,” said Paul Zeaser with CoolRay Mechanical.
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Zeaser says busy doesn’t begin to describe what he’s seeing this summer.
“A lot of it is units either not keeping up due to it being 100 degrees outside, or just not working at all in general. It can be a lot of things. The most common thing is usually some kind of electrical component fails, or units low on refrigerant,” said Zeaser.
And finding the ‘sweet spot’ to keep your home from feeling like an air fryer can be tricky.
Georgia Power says the first step is a unit check.
Amanda Arnold with Georgia Power said: “Make sure that your air conditioning unit is working correctly, you want to have a professional come look at it. Look at your air filters, and make sure you’re changing them out once a month. But if you have the pleated filters, those need to be changed once every three months.”
And she says set your thermostat and don’t change it.
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“The number one thing is to keep your thermostat to 78 degrees, and your ceiling fans to help you feel cool. And I know this sounds a little bit warm, but every degree higher that your thermostat stays on can result in a three to 4% decrease in energy use,” said Arnold.
Wash your clothes on cold and don’t dry them during peak hours.
“Make sure it’s a full load. And then use your heat-producing appliances outside of peak hours. Peak hours are between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. And your heat-producing appliances include your dishwasher, your washer, and your dryer. So, if you can use that outside of those peak hours, that will result in less energy use, producing less heat,” said Arnold.
Look at your countertop, appliances are eating your energy.
“If you aren’t using your toaster and you’re not using your coffeemaker, maybe you go ahead and unplug them for times that you’re not using them because they are sucking up energy, even though you may not think about it,” said Arnold.
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This year, Georgia Power says they have expanded their “income qualified” discount to cover a range of customers based on salary, disability insurance and more.
To find out if you qualify for help, check HERE.
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