SARASOTA – Record high temperature across the Suncoast are playing part in our bill.
“We know it’s hot in Florida but the hottest time of the year is typically in the summer, July, August, September, temperatures usually run in the lower and in some cases, middle 90s,” said SNN Chief Meteorologist, Justin Mosely.
“Summer is the time of the year where we see the largest bills because of the fact that your air conditioner is working extra hard to keep your home cool,” said FPL Spokesperson, Ana Espinosa.
FPL experts recommend setting your thermostat to 78 degrees to help you save
“But we know that it can be warm for a lot of people especially during this time of year, so just remembering for every degree you put it up your going to save 3 to 5 percent on cooling costs, that’s a saver right there,” said Espinosa.
Another tip, is turning up the thermostat and turning on a fan in the room you are in to help keep yourself cool.
“A fan is going to make it feel 3 degrees cooler than it actually is in that room for that person, but we recommend, turning that fan off as soon as you leave the room because fans cool people, not rooms,” said Espinosa.
As well as washing your clothes with cold water, as it’s an average of ten cents per wash, in comparison to a hot water wash which is on average, about a dollar.
“There’s a 90 cent difference there, and if you’re doing laundry every day and you’re using hot water for every wash then your electric bill is also going to see the impacts of that,” said Espinosa.
Some simple things you can do to keep your home cool is lowering blinds and keeping doors throughout your home open, allowing air circulation. As well as switching out you air filter every month to help everything run more smoothly. And consider unplugging electronics that are not in use
“Unplugging things, if I know I’m not going to be home or on a trip making sure everything is unplugged, everything is turned off,” said Espinosa.
FPL’s Energy Manager Tool allows you to monitor how your home is using electricity
“It really allows our customers to take control of their electric bill and see exactly what is using most electricity in their home and make changes if they need to.”
For more information on FPL‘s Energy Manager Tool, you can visit their website here.
