How To Save Money On Electricity This Summer In Shreveport-Bossier And More

It's hot outside.  Around 95 degrees all week and likely will be the same all of next week.  In times of heat, our best friend becomes our air conditioning and our enemy is our electricity bill.

"In any residential home, the number one user of electricity is going to be the air conditioning," SWEPCO's Scott McCloud tells KEEL News.  "When your start lowering those dials down, you're adding about 7% every time you come down from 76 degrees"

McCloud suggests keeping thermostats set to 76 or 78 degrees and then use any fans you have in your house.  Fans are much cheaper to operate than air conditioning units.

Along with higher energy costs is the heavy burden air conditioning has on the electrical grid.

"Shift some of the load you have in your home off peak times," suggested McCloud.  "Typically that's going to from 2 to 6 every weekday in the summer."

That may mean doing dishes in the morning before you go to work and do laundry in the evening or at night.  This is all in an effort to prevent a power surge or brownouts across the SWEPCO grid.