Air conditioning is the primary reason behind higher bills in warm months. In fact, because more and more people are adding air conditioning, PGE now has some of our peak-usage days on extremely hot days in summer.

Potential causes
Most of these triggers are related to air conditioning, but there are a few other warm-weather energy boosters to watch for.

• Air conditioning running even on days when it’s not very hot outside.
• Air conditioning turned too low.
• Whole-house or room air conditioner improperly sized for space, or trying to cool entire home with a room air conditioner.
• New room air conditioning unit added.
• Whole house fan used while air conditioner is operating.
• Ceiling fans or portable fans left running when no one is in the room.
• Curtains left open during the day. On hot, sunny days this heats up your house and makes air conditioning work harder.
• Ducts are not sealed or insulated, which wastes cooled air.
• Ceilings, floors and walls need more insulation.
• Weatherstripping or caulking needed around doors, windows, pipes and cracks.
• Inaccurate thermostat.
• Zonal heat left on at breaker panel.
• A new baby, who can arrive any time of year of course, can add to cooling and hot-water usage.
• Summer guests or additional people home during the day, which can increase hot-water usage, cooking and cooling.
• New appliances or big screen TV.
• New pool, hot tub, pond or fountain.

Possible solutions

• Insulate and seal air leaks. Seal and insulate heating/cooling ducts, too. This will help keep your home cooler and reduce the need for air conditioning.
• Try using fans instead of air conditioning if the temperature is just warm and not sweltering. Or use fans in combination with your air conditioning, raising the thermostat setting to 80 degrees. If outside temperatures drop at night, turn off the air conditioning and use a window box fans to draw in cool air and expel hot air. See our Ventilation & Air Conditioning section for more information.
• If you have air conditioning, set the thermostat to 75–78 degrees. Raise the temperature at bedtime or when you’re away.
• Make sure your air conditioning unit is properly sized for the space you wish to cool. Depending on the age and efficiency of your equipment, you might want to consider upgrading your air conditioning. See our Ventilation & Air Conditioning section for more information.
• Operate fans only in occupied rooms; fans cool people, not rooms.
• If you have a whole house fan, it shouldn’t operate at the same time as an air conditioner. You can save on air conditioning costs by turning off the AC in the evening, opening windows and turning on your whole house fan.
• Close curtains to block the sun.
• Check the accuracy of your thermostat. Walk through your house with an instant-read cooking thermometer to see if the air temperature matches your setting. You might need to upgrade to a programmable thermostat.
• Turn off zonal heat at the breaker panel. If you turn off zonal heat just at the thermostat, it still uses some electricity.
• Lower the water heater temperature to 120 degrees.
• Microwave or eat no-cook meals during hot weather. Also, wait to run your dishwasher, washer and dryer until cooler evening hours. Major appliances generate heat, which makes air conditioning work harder.

Find more solutions
To save more energy, first try our no-cost improvements and low-cost improvements.

Also budget for efficient investments to achieve significant long-term savings.*

*Savings will vary based on circumstances.