The dog days of summer are rapidly approaching, but just because temperatures are rising doesn’t necessarily mean that your energy bill has to. Powering Arkansas has compiled tips that are designed to help you keep your energy bills under control while being environmentally friendly. Let’s dig in.
Before the summer heat really sets in, residential energy customers can save money and help manage their energy usage by installing energy efficient upgrades, including making simple changes like:
- Changing air filters. Dirty air filters restrict air flow and make your system work harder. Replace your air filter at least every three months.
- Setting the thermostat to 78 degrees or the highest comfortable temperature. Every degree lower than 78 can raise a bill as much as 3%.
- Buy a programmable thermostat. A programmable thermostat can help manage costs, is controllable, and can help monitor usage.
- Use fans to cool off. Ceiling fans, box fans and oscillating fans use very little electricity to circulate the air. Make sure ceiling fans are rotating in the right direction – counter-clockwise during summer – to push cooler air down into the room. Be sure to turn all fans off in unused rooms.
- Close blinds, shades and curtains to keep the sun out and the cool air in.
- Seal cracks and holes around doors, windows and ductwork. Weather stripping and caulk will help keep the cold air in and the hot air out.
In Arkansas, the Entergy Arkansas Home Energy Solutions Program will install energy-saving products in your home at no cost to you. The program is designed to help you solve common energy efficiency problems. Additionally, an Entergy Arkansas-qualified technician will perform an energy survey of your home at no cost. This survey is designed to identify ways to improve your home’s overall energy efficiency, and at the end of the survey, the technician will provide you with a report and summary of recommendations.
If you are an Entergy Arkansas residential customer - renter or owner - and you live in a single family home with ducted central heat and air, and that’s at least one year old, you are eligible for this program.
SWEPCO customers in Arkansas are also eligible to apply for SWEPCO’s Home Weatherization Pathway. Signing up is simple - fill out this form on their site.
Entergy’s program includes incentives for participating, including installing - at no cost - energy-efficient shower heads that use 40% less water which means 40% less water to heat for your shower; kitchen and bathroom faucet aerators made of longer-lasting materials which use ⅓ less water than standard faucets; and advanced power strips, which are designed to reduce electricity wasted by electronics while protecting your investments from power surges.
According to Entergy Arkansas’s website, the program uses a network of authorized trade allies to deliver energy efficiency upgrades and products. The measures listed below are eligible for incentives that typically cover the full cost, but you’ll want to verify that with your participating trade ally:
- Air sealing, which reduces the amount of air that leaks in and out of your home. This can increase comfort, cut heating and cooling costs and create a healthier indoor environment.
- Duct sealing can make your home more energy efficient and safer.
- Ceiling insulation will boost energy efficiency and help keep your home comfortable while still protecting you against excessive hot or cold weather conditions
- Air conditioner tune ups help your system run more efficiently and provide better comfort to residents while lower costs.
Both programs utilize the skills and knowledge of trade allies and local contractors to help manage the work in a more timely manner - after all, these utilities do cover giant territories in our state. Our content partner, the Arkansas Advanced Energy Association (AAEA), provided Powering Arkansas with a few names of businesses in their membership list who work with either Entergy or SWEPCO to provide these audits. These organizations and their contact information are listed below.
SunCrop Solar and Energy Solutions |
866.786.2767
Powers HVAC | Contact Us Form (Powers focuses on Commercial properties)
Entegrity Energy Partners |
Efficient Power & Light |
