Entergy Bill/Electric Bill

ashleyr409

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jul 12, 2016
I was wondering if anyone had any tips on how to save on my Entergy-Electric Bill.

Last month my electric bill was $292.01 and I just checked this morning now its $392.15

I know kids are home for the summer but I just cant imagine that it would go up this much.

We make sure all lights are off if you are not in the room. No tv, radio etc. are on while sleeping. I just don't know what we can do.

We live in Southeast Texas
 
Put your thermostat to a higher setting - if your air conditioner is running all the time to cool your house, it is expensive. We keep our house on 76 and we are in super hot metro Atlanta.
 
Put your thermostat to a higher setting - if your air conditioner is running all the time to cool your house, it is expensive. We keep our house on 76 and we are in super hot metro Atlanta.

That's a great idea. I will do that. Maybe by some personal fans for the bedrooms.
 
Hi from CA. Yep, drop the use of the AC and see if that drops the amount of electricity you're using. It is by far the biggest hog of electricity. Kids are killer on electric bills, leaving doors open is the worst- you can't AC the outside! It's a family effort for things like that because it's a bit of different way of living. My east coast cousins (from an area with super cheap electricity, but like I said I'm from CA so my viewpoint is skewed) came to visit and would leave patio doors open when they went outside real quick or doors open when packing their car- you can't do that when electricity is this expensive!! Fans make a big difference for how much AC you need to use so yes on that!
 


Even if you cut the AC back a few hours a day it will help. Especially if everyone leaves part of a day. Some thermostats can be set to adjust the temperature at different times of day.
 
It's hard to see if there is a problem or not since electric rates vary greatly, but if you feel its too high and just doesn't make sense it's time to start looking at your home and try to identify problems.

The first thing to look at would be your A/C unit, adjusting the temp can of course help but make sure it's up to speed on all of it's maintenance (have you been servicing it annually?) make sure all the filters are clean. - Consider buying a smart thermostat like an Ecobee or Nest (these have some nice energy saving features)

After that you may want to buy a Kill-A-Watt meter ..this will let you measure each plug in appliances power consumption, you can put in your electric rates to estimate how much that appliance is costing you. You may decide some appliances need to be replaced because they are now running very ineffectively.

Once that's done walk your house and make sure to seal any gaps as appropriate, check all your windows and re calk as needed, use great stuff foam to seal cable runs etc..

Think about your light bulbs, are you using at least CFL or LED? If not switch to LED now.

After that check to see if it may be worth upgrading your insulation.

If you still feel the bill is sky high compared to similar homes you could have someone come out and do an energy audit, they will give you a list of all inefficiency's in the home and make recommendations.


*edit
A quick note on fans: Remember fans cool people not rooms, if you leave a fan on in an empty room you are only heating the room (small amount of head produced from the fan motor) and you are paying to do it.
 
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check all your windows and make sure they are closed, especially if you are in an older house. We just noticed that some of ours are sagging and had a gap at the top. As my Dad would say, we've been air conditioning the whole neighborhood.
 


THIS IS WHAT OUR ELECTRIC PROVIDER HAS ON THEIR WEBSITE
Air conditioning / cooling
  • Set the thermostat to 78 degrees or higher. You'll save around 5 to 10 percent on cooling costs for every two degrees you raise the temperature.
  • Change the air filter regularly. An air conditioning unit with dirty filters can use 5 to 10 percent more energy.
  • Use fans instead of central air conditioning whenever possible. A fan costs about 90% less to operate.
  • Adjust ceiling fans to turn counter-clockwise in the summer.
 
Most suggestions only make a very small difference - my bill is pretty uniform until summer! It’s all in the A/C so I turn ours up a little if we aren’t home and use fans to sleep.
 
Cooling your house...least expensive to most...
Close your blinds on the sunny side of the house

Caulk up/insulate any air leaks from your windows or doors.

Sun block window film for any hot rooms due to the sun.

Programmable thermostat - I assume everyone has one of these now but if not definitely get one.

Even if you have one program it to be 3 degrees less/ac than you do now...THEN when people complain adjust it by 1 degree for that scheduled time. Here is an example of my AC schedule before/after doing this. Only got 1 degree difference but its for most of the day.
3:30am 74/74
6:30am 76/77
12:30pm 75/76
6:30pm 74/75

Ceiling fans - Cooling seems to be your biggest issue so that's the where to start.

Make sure your insulation is the correct depth/R value and your roof ventilation is adequate.


Other power saving tips...

Microwave clock - Can you turn it off? If so then do it! Some Microwaves draw 75w+ when the display is on and that thing is running 24/7!

Unplug any devices you are not using more than twice a week if you have easy access to them.
If a power strip you can turn off makes this easier then go that route.

Unplug 100% charged laptops, battery banks, power tool batteries. The charger keep drawing power even though the battery doesn't need it.

LED light bulbs - In Illinois we can get them on sale with instant rebate thru our utility for $1ea. Sometimes there is a limit of 6 bulbs or your state may not offer the rebate making them more expensive. ANYWAYS buy what you can to replace the most used lights in the house. Of the remaining light bulbs in your house see if you can use a lower wattage bulb (with what you just took out)

All of the above also produces heat which make your AC work more.
 
Since you mentioned SE Texas, double check your electric plan. Did you go from a fixed rate 12 month contract to a variable month to month contract? When your contract expires most places jump your rate.

How many kWh are you using? You might need to shop for a new plan.

To give context, I live in Houston in a 2700sq ft house with no shade. House is 12 years old. Kids home all summer. AC set to 77 all day/all night. I pay about $120-$150/mo in the summer. Or 9 cents per kWh.

An older bigger house with a pool will cost more. A smaller newer house with shade will cost less.

It may be time to shop around
 
We made a huge impact by stapling double bubble foil insulation to the underside of our attic joists. It is like bubble wrap wrapped in foil. The foil helps to reflect the heat and the air bubbles help decrease heat transfer. Our attic is about 30 degrees cooler now. Our second story is way cooler than before. We stapled it to the inside of our west facing wood garage door and our garage does not freeze in winter and stays cooler in summer.

It is sold at box stores.

We keep our 2500 sf all electric house at 68 degrees year round in Michigan for a little over $150/month at 14 cents per kWh.
 
If you still feel the bill is sky high compared to similar homes you could have someone come out and do an energy audit, they will give you a list of all inefficiency's in the home and make recommendations.
You might consider doing this first. See if your electric company offers free energy audits.
 
i'll echo making sure your system is in good working order-we had an issue with the blower on ours and had a company out, come to find out in addition to the blower there was an small internal part that went out that was causing the heat to be in the on position even when the cooling was initiated. once fixed our costs dropped significantly. some companies offer protection plans-ours is less than $200 per year and covers most repairs (MORE than paid for itself w/this repair) and includes a yearly check up for the system.

in addition-regularly replace filters and if possible use appliances that generate more heat during cooler periods of the morning/evening so it doesn't trigger your thermostat to push out more cold air (i do laundry in the evenings so the clothes and esp. high heat loads are drying over night).


i'm not in total agreement on increasing the house temp on the thermostat during different times of the days summer months. it takes more energy (more $$$) for a system to turn on and off and lower the temp when the house has gotten hot vs maintaining a constant temp so we have a temp for each season and just keep it at that for the duration (unless we will be gone for a week or more). we tried this theory out w/dd's place-she was adjusting the temp to be higher when she was out of her place for work or school so we had her try setting her thermostat for a consistent temp 24/7-sure enough her usage dropped and bill went down.
 
Do you own? Have you considered going solar?
If you go with a PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) the system is free, you are obligated to buy ALL the power your solar panels make for 20 years, at a rate lower than your electric company charges, and surplus power you sell back to your utility at a rate below what you are paying the solar company and below what your utility charges, but at least it is saving you some money. My system saves me about $25 a month.
 
Do you own? Have you considered going solar?
If you go with a PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) the system is free, you are obligated to buy ALL the power your solar panels make for 20 years, at a rate lower than your electric company charges, and surplus power you sell back to your utility at a rate below what you are paying the solar company and below what your utility charges, but at least it is saving you some money. My system saves me about $25 a month.

My neighbor put in Solar last year and he claims to have received a credit this past month and has paid nothing for several months. I'm not sure what kind of agreement he has.

I sympathize with OP. When I lived in South Texas (for 4 years) it was HOT! In July and August the temps were rarely under 100 degrees. I was actually thinking that setting her thermostat higher probably does no good. An energy audit is good advice.
 
If anyone is up and about in the early hours of sunrise, you can open windows and doors (if the AC is NOT running) to pull the cooler air into the house. It works best if you can point a fan outside through a window for this one. It sounds weird but it will create a vacuum of hot air from your house/cold air coming in from the outside. After the sun actually comes up and starts making everything bright with dust motes, you can close the house up.

I agree, figure out if your home insulation is good and your AC system is running well.

We have just about everything plugged into surge protector strips, so if we are not using it, it's not a vampire appliance. I think the fridge is the only thing in my kitchen that is ever drawing electricity all the time.

If you have a utilities system that has low and peak demand times, try re-working household chores to take advantage of it. Especially large things like dishes and laundry. Can you take advantage of air-drying your clothes and NOT running the dryer?
 
My neighbor put in Solar last year and he claims to have received a credit this past month and has paid nothing for several months. I'm not sure what kind of agreement he has.

I sympathize with OP. When I lived in South Texas (for 4 years) it was HOT! In July and August the temps were rarely under 100 degrees. I was actually thinking that setting her thermostat higher probably does no good. An energy audit is good advice.
That can happen if you purchase your system outright. I had that option for $36,000 before 30% tax credits. Decided free was better. Only issue now is we have to use the system for 20 years total to fulfill our obligation (we are 3 years in), and if we sell the house, we either have to buy the system at it's then value, or have the new owners take over the PPA. Our kids know of this obligation if we don't make it another 17 years. Been in the house 35 years, the solar was part of the remodel we did 4 years ago to make this our retirement home. We have no intention of selling, but we both home to live another 17 years.
 
If anyone is up and about in the early hours of sunrise, you can open windows and doors (if the AC is NOT running) to pull the cooler air into the house. It works best if you can point a fan outside through a window for this one. It sounds weird but it will create a vacuum of hot air from your house/cold air coming in from the outside. After the sun actually comes up and starts making everything bright with dust motes, you can close the house up.

I agree, figure out if your home insulation is good and your AC system is running well.

We have just about everything plugged into surge protector strips, so if we are not using it, it's not a vampire appliance. I think the fridge is the only thing in my kitchen that is ever drawing electricity all the time.

If you have a utilities system that has low and peak demand times, try re-working household chores to take advantage of it. Especially large things like dishes and laundry. Can you take advantage of air-drying your clothes and NOT running the dryer?
That depends on where you live. The temp here at 5am was 87 degrees.

I also agree with barkley that trying to adjust the temp throughout the day will take more energy than just leaving it at one temp. Your mileage is going to vary with the type of house you have, where it faces and your environment. It’s regularly 110 here. Heat seeps into everything and stays. My upstairs is south facing. If I try to bump the temp up when it’s mostly unoccupied up there and then turn it back down during the hottest part of the day when people are home it runs almost non stop trying to cool things down. If I bump the temp up a couple degrees, sure my AC(s) kick on less but then they run twice as long.

I read these threads every year and have tried all suggestions. When it’s 110 and your power bill is $300-$500 that 5-10% is pretty negligible. I run my fans, keep all the shades drawn and pretty much resign myself to my power bill being ridiculous in the summer time. Years ago I just started saving for it. For me, there’s not much more I can do.
 

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