Could Your Air Conditioner Be Driving Up Your Tallahassee Electric Bill?

Ways a cooling system raises a bill

• Run time that has crept upward — a system that used to satisfy in cycles now runs nearly all day.
• A clogged filter forcing the blower to work against restriction.
• Dirty indoor or outdoor coils, which reduce heat transfer and extend every cycle.
• Duct leakage delivering conditioned air to the attic instead of the rooms.
• Restricted airflow from a blocked return or a failing blower.
• A thermostat that misreads the room, or a schedule that was changed and never changed back.
• Deteriorating equipment: a weak compressor or a motor drawing more current than it should.
• Refrigerant charge that is off because of a leak, forcing longer run times for less cooling.

Reasons that have nothing to do with the AC

Bills move for many reasons, and it is a mistake to replace equipment based on a single high statement.

• A hotter-than-usual month, or a billing period that included more days than the last one.
• Guests, a new work-from-home routine, or a schedule that kept the house occupied all day.
• Water heating, pool pumps, dehumidifiers, space heaters and second refrigerators.
• Insulation that has settled, attic penetrations, or weatherstripping that has failed.
• Rate or fee changes on the utility side.

How to narrow it down before spending money

1. 1Compare the same month across two or three years rather than comparing to last month.
2. 2Check the number of days in the billing period and the average temperature for that period.
3. 3Replace the air filter and note whether run time changes over the following week.
4. 4Watch whether the system reaches the setpoint during the hottest part of the day or falls behind.
5. 5Note whether some rooms have become noticeably harder to cool, which points toward ducts or airflow.
6. 6If run time and comfort have both worsened, request a diagnosis rather than guessing.

Tallahassee Homeowner Resource: Home Energy Audits

City of Tallahassee Utilities customers may have access to residential energy-audit programs that look at the whole house — insulation, air leakage, duct condition and cooling equipment — rather than just the air conditioner.

An audit is often the more useful first step when the complaint is cost rather than a specific mechanical failure, because it identifies whether the money is going out through the equipment, the envelope or the ducts.

City programs, eligibility requirements and availability can change. Homeowners should verify current information directly with City of Tallahassee Utilities.

When the bill is really a symptom

If cooling costs rose alongside longer run times, weaker airflow, a house that feels more humid, or rooms that no longer keep up, the system is telling you something. A diagnosis at that point is cheaper than another summer of the same bills.

Call 850-790-6261 to be connected with an independent local service provider, or send a short description of what has changed.