How Bay Area renters, homeowners can lower cooling costs from energy bills

Air conditioning units work in overdrive in heat

Your body isn't the only thing going into overdrive with this heat -- your air conditioner is too. Briona Arradondo reports.

TAMPA, Fla. - This summer’s heat is breaking records and some wallets, as energy bills are much higher for some households in the Tampa Bay area.

What you can do:

Many Tampa Bay area residents are paying more on energy bills than usual this summer due to the heat.

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"Just this past month, $150 to $200. I do keep mine lower," said Gregg Poirier of how much more he’s paying in his bill.

Poirier is the operations and HVAC manager at CoolToday, an air conditioning and HVAC business in Tampa. He said lowering that bill can start with what you may already know, your thermostat.

"High 70s during the day, low 70s during the night, and you’re going to find a little bit less on that energy bill every single month," said Poirier.

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He said keep your windows closed and curtains drawn.

"The main thing, which it seems crazy that you would have to tell people, is keep your windows closed. Don’t open your windows. Don’t try to have a combined effect. Don’t try to get fresh air through your windows because your system’s never going to be able to combat that," said Poirier.

For homeowners, changes can start in the attic with insulation.

"It could be as simple as fixing it. Maybe not doing all the insulation, you may just have some spots that are low, it’s become compacted or missing completely," said Poirier.

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Air filters also work hard, so experts recommend keeping them clean.  It may need switching out more often than you think.

If you have a garage, A/C experts said make sure the door to your garage doesn’t have any gaps.

Renters can also try a dehumidifier as an option.

"I think the best thing for a renter to do is get yourself a dehumidification system, because a lot of what you’re doing with an air conditioning system even before cooling is removing the humidity," said Poirier.

Big picture view:

Duke Energy Florida said your air-conditioning system can make up 30-50% of your energy bill.

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"So that temperature difference outside is why, right now your bill is higher than it may have been two months ago, despite the fact that your thermostat has never changed," said Ana Gibbs, a spokesperson with Duke Energy Florida in St. Petersburg.

They suggest setting your water heater to 120 degrees. Gibbs said residents can also consider doing a free energy audit with their utility provider or look into other options to bring that cost down.

"You can use things like budget billing which averages your monthly bill," said Gibbs. "What that means is you can pay the same amount every month throughout the entire year, so there aren’t peaks and valleys and surprises throughout the year."

Duke Energy said there are also financial assistance programs and rebates available for after completing the free home audit. You can find more information from Duke Energy by clicking here. TECO customers can find more information by visiting TECO's website and clicking on the "Ways to Save" tab.