How to avoid high summer bills

With summer in full swing, it's common to experience higher electric bills due to increased air conditioning use. Butler Rural Electric Cooperative is here to help you save. 

Here’s how hot weather impacts your bill

• Several factors can impact your monthly bill, but the primary reason is increased energy use. Cooling and heating make up 40 to 50% of your bill.
• Your HVAC system works much harder to keep your home comfortable during hot weather. Even if you don’t change your thermostat setting, it runs longer to cool your home.
• If you have a pool, pool pumps can dramatically increase your electric bill.
• People usually spend more time indoors during the hottest part of the day to escape the heat, which increases electric use for appliances, lights, and electronics. 

Ways to save

• Keeping your thermostat at the highest comfortable temperature will save you money. If you aren’t home during the day, increase your thermostat by 8 to 10 degrees. There’s no need to cool an empty house.
• Ceiling fans help circulate air, making a room feel cooler and reducing the need to adjust your thermostat.
• To reduce your electric bill with a pool, focus on energy-efficient practices like reducing pump use, using a pool cover, and upgrading to energy-efficient equipment. 

We’re here to help

• Monitor your energy use through SmartHub to see where spikes occur. With SmartHub, you can view your yearly, monthly, daily, and hourly electric use to see when spikes occur and to track what you did differently to make your electric use go up. Changing your behavior around those spikes can help you save on your bill. You can even set energy use alerts that notify you when you go over a pre-set amount. Learn more about SmartHub at https://www.butlerrural.coop/about-smarthub
• Budget billing can help avoid extreme swings by making your bill more predictable. Budget billing levels your annual electric costs. We’ll calculate your budget billing amount based on your electric use over the past 11 months plus your current month’s electric use. Learn more and sign up at https://www.butlerrural.coop/budget-billing.
• We offer payment extensions and contact information for payment assistance organizations at https://www.butlerrural.coop/payment-assistance

We’re always here to help. If you have questions about your bill or need payment assistance, please contact us at butler@butlerrural.coop or 513-867-4400.