Air conditioning gets expensive. Here’s how to save money – and help the planet.

|
Mark Humphrey/AP
Alexandra Mistekevic (at left) picks up a free window air conditioner with the help of Marvin Cox (at right), community outreach director with the Metropolitan Action Commission, June 25, 2024, in Nashville, Tennessee.
  • Quick Read
  • Deep Read ( 2 Min. )

Feeling hot – but not so hot about your power bill? You’re not alone.

Summer may seem like it’s winding down in places like New England, but other areas across the United States are still roasting, and using plenty of air conditioning. 

Why We Wrote This

Demand for air conditioning is growing in the U.S., even as energy prices rise in some places. We made charts to track AC usage and costs in each state — and found tips for how to use AC effectively.

Air conditioning is responsible for almost one-fifth of electricity used in U.S. homes, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. It’s also the top electricity consumption source in commercial buildings.

Pair increasing AC demand with rising energy prices in some areas, and consumers can feel the strain. A recent AP poll finds that around 7 in 10 Americans say extreme heat has had an impact on their electricity bills in the past year. 

But there are ways households and businesses can save money – and lower their carbon footprints at the same time. Those include using AC with moderation; replacing windows and improving insulation; and adding shades, awnings, or window films to windows to help block out sunlight that enters the house as heat.

Feeling hot – but not so hot about your power bill? You’re not alone.

Summer may seem like it’s winding down in places like New England, but other areas across the United States are still roasting, and using plenty of air conditioning. Triple-digit temperatures baked Southern California over the weekend and Phoenix is in a record streak of over 100 days above 100 degrees.  

Air conditioning is responsible for almost one-fifth of electricity used in U.S. homes, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. It’s also the top electricity consumption source in commercial buildings. 

Why We Wrote This

Demand for air conditioning is growing in the U.S., even as energy prices rise in some places. We made charts to track AC usage and costs in each state — and found tips for how to use AC effectively.

As summers become hotter and more humid, a 2021 modeling study estimated that air-conditioning demand could increase by 8% to 13% – and that’s on top of what many researchers have found to be a growing American expectation of climate-controlled living. (Almost all new single family homes today are built with central air conditioning, compared with only half in 1973, according to U.S. Census Data statistics.) 

Put that increasing AC demand with rising energy prices in some areas, and consumers can feel the strain. A recent AP poll finds that around 7 in 10 Americans say extreme heat has had an impact on their electricity bills in the past year.   

But there are ways households and businesses can save money – and lower their carbon footprints at the same time. (Nationwide, the power that runs those air conditioning units still comes largely from fossil fuels – although renewable energy sources are growing.)  

SOURCE:

U.S. Energy Information Administration

|
Jacob Turcotte and Alex Ip/Staff

First, use AC with moderation. A review of Center for the Built Environment Occupant Surveys showed that around 40% of office workers dislike the temperature in their offices. A 2021 academic article found that women in particular are more likely to be negatively affected by overcooling. At home, making the temperature just a few degrees warmer can make a significant difference in electricity prices. The U.S. Department of Energy found that adjusting the thermostat by 7 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit for eight hours a day can lead to up to 10% in annual savings.

Second, weather up: Data from the Energy Information Administration shows that replacing windows is the most effective renovation measure to reduce cooling energy use. Air sealing and improved insulation also help. Programs such as the U.S. Department of Energy’s Weatherization Assistance Program have helped millions of lower-income families save hundreds of dollars each year; tax credits are also available for retrofitting businesses and homes.

Third, get some shade. Department of Energy research shows that most sunlight that falls on standard double-pane windows enters the house as heat. Window attachments such as shades, awnings, or window films can help block out up to 60% of that sunlight and reduce demand for cooling.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Air conditioning gets expensive. Here’s how to save money – and help the planet.
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2024/0909/air-conditioning-heat-wave-electricity-costs
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe