News Release > Feelin’ Hot, Hot, Hot? Keep Summer Energy Costs Lower without Sacrificing Comfort

Feelin’ Hot, Hot, Hot? Keep Summer Energy Costs Lower without Sacrificing Comfort

05/16/2019

The calendar may say summer hasn’t officially started, but the heat is ramping up! Now is the time to take some simple steps to help minimize the impact sizzling temps can have on your energy bill before summer is in full swing.

The top ways to save energy and keep your costs lower without sacrificing comfort are:

• Get your A/C inspected to make sure your system is leak-free and operating as efficiently as possible. Don’t forget about air filters; some units require monthly cleaning or replacing.
• Set your thermostat at 78 degrees or the highest comfortable temperature. Every degree lower than 78 can raise your bill as much as 3%. If you crank down the A/C to a cooler 72 degrees, you’ve already increased your bill by 18%.
• Buy a programmable thermostat. As energy use rises, costs also rise. If you spend most of your day outside of the house, set your thermostat to automatically shut off or raise the A/C setting when you’re away.
• Use fans to cool off, but remember – fans cool people, not rooms. Ceiling fans, box fans and oscillating fans use very little electricity and circulate the air, which helps you feel several degrees cooler. To save more energy, be sure to turn them off when you leave the room.
• Close blinds, shades and curtains to keep the sun out and the cool air in. Also, close A/C vents in rooms that are not in use.
• Seal cracks and holes around doors, windows and ductwork. Inexpensive weather stripping and caulk will help keep the cold air inside the house and the hot air outdoors.

You also can save energy and money through valuable rebates and incentives on a variety of energy-efficient appliances, products and upgrades. If you live in Orleans Parish, check out the Energy Smart program, and if you live outside of Orleans Parish, you can benefit from Entergy Solutions – A Louisiana Program. All customers can access a variety of energy-saving tips, options and calculators at entergy.com/savemoney.

For those struggling to pay their summer energy bills, Entergy helps low-income, disabled and elderly customers through its customer-assistance fund, The Power to Care, which is funded by donations from Entergy employees, customers and shareholders. In New Orleans, it is administered by the New Orleans Council on Aging and in the rest of the state, it is administered by The Salvation Army.

In addition to The Power to Care, bill-payment assistance also is available through the federal Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program. For more information, Orleans Parish customers can visit entergyneworleans.com and customers in other parishes can visit entergylouisiana.com.

Entergy New Orleans, LLC is an electric and gas utility that serves Louisiana’s Orleans Parish. The company provides electricity to more than 200,000 customers and natural gas to more than 106,000 customers.

Entergy Louisiana, LLC provides electric service to more than 1 million customers and natural gas service to more than 93,000 customers in the greater Baton Rouge area. With operations in southern, central and northeastern Louisiana. Both companies are subsidiaries of Entergy Corporation.

Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, including nearly 9,000 megawatts of nuclear power. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.9 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of approximately $11 billion and more than 13,000 employees.