Why Are My Energy Bills So High?

​Ever wonder what's causing your APS or SRP energy bills to be so high? If your utility bills seem abnormally high it may be caused by something other than the weather. If you have gotten a letter from APS or SRP saying that you are using more energy than your neighbors something could be going on in your attic that's driving your energy bills up. If you have talked to your neighbors who have the same floor plan as you and keep the thermostat at the same temperature, but you are paying more every month to the utility company, those are familiar stories to our energy auditors at Green ID. As a rule of thumb, an energy efficient home will have a HIGH energy bill of $100 per 1,000 sq ft.  So if you live in a 2100 sq ft home, your highest energy bill in July or August in Phoenix should be no more than $210 - $230… That said, how does your home measure up? Chances are if you are reading this post trying to solve why your APS or SRP energy bills are so high than your utility bills are maybe 1.5 – 2 times higher than our threshold.  

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Here are some reasons why your energy bills are so high and some DIY fixes you can do to lower them

1. The pool pump is over-used.  If you have a pool, it is often easy to forget that the pool pump even runs at all if it is programmed to turn on at night and you have someone else doing the pool maintenance.  The pool pump can be the second biggest energy user in your home, and draw more power than even your water heater! Make sure your pool pump is calibrated to your pool size, filter type and piping configuration.  You’ll also want to turn the run time down in the winter months. If you haven’t already, upgrade your pool pump to a variable speed pool pump. The payback is 2-3 years and you’ll lower your energy bills just by changing your pool pump. APS and SRP offer rebates and Green ID is a certified variable speed pool pump installer to make sure your pump is calibrated exactly to your pool specifications.

2. The attic insulation is low.  Not that long ago, the code for attic insulation was less than half of what it is today.  If your home was built more than 20 years ago, your attic has likely been costing you hundreds of dollars on overspent energy bills every summer, not to mention the overtime it causes your air conditioning system to run. Even in newer homes, our energy auditors have found some rooms with zero insulation above them!  Oops, I guess that never got checked in the final walkthrough. On other homes, the insulation may be installed completely wrong, cutting it’s R-value (how well it resists heat gain) by 50%. Yes, it’s common to find attic insulation done wrong by even the most experienced insulation companies, because they often just blow-and-go.  Here’s how insulation can be done wrong, and how insulation should be installed. 

3. Ductwork is undersized.  At Green ID we say your air conditioning system is only as good as the ductwork that delivers it.  If you have a 5 ton air conditioner but your ductwork is sized for only a 4 tons of airflow, that will cause high energy bills and hot rooms in the summer. Even in newer homes, air conditioning contractors are still not getting it right, and putting undersized ductwork on new units. When a new air conditioner is installed on existing homes, the ductwork sizing is never spoken about, let alone actually measured. Unfortunately, this is a little known problem in Phoenix homes that Green ID energy auditors are trained to make the proper diagnosis for and remedial action.

4. Leaky ducts. The culprit of high energy bills may be leaky ducts. In a typical home, APS and SRP estimates about 20% of the air that moves through the duct system is lost because of improper installation. Most homes in Arizona have the ductwork located in an unconditioned attic space, where temperature differences can be extreme and any leakage results in the HVAC system working even harder. Flex ductwork is commonly used in Phoenix homes built in 1980 or later. This type of ductwork became popular because of it's simplicity to install, however, best practices in duct design and sealing and installation are rarely followed or simply ignored. While sheet metal ductwork is better for airflow and durability than flex ductwork, homes built with sheet metal ductwork are never sealed and typically leak 20% of the conditioned air into the attic.  ​

5. Poor airflow causing one room to be hotter than the rest of the house.  Of course, this one hot room is your master bedroom or another room you use often, and you find yourself needing to overcool the entire house just to stay reasonably comfortable in your one room! This causes your air conditioner to run longer and energy use to increase. Causes could be from a longer duct line furthest away from the air handler, or even a bad duct design with kinks, u-turns and improper size.

6. Hidden energy vampires.  These may not be as obvious as your heating and cooling system, or even the insulation.  Many homeowners are stumped as to why their energy bills are so high when they have a newer home with good insulation levels.  The answer is energy vampires. At Green ID, our energy auditors are trained to uncover hidden energy vampires that may be lurking around your home and driving your energy bills much higher than your neighbors. It will likely make perfect sense when our energy auditors tell you about your hidden vampires, but often times people need a trained eye to uncover additional energy sources.

Most homeowners never realize that having low energy bills, fixing hot rooms and making the home comfortable all year long is entirely possible without putting expensive solar panels on the roof! High energy bills may have less to do with what temperature you keep the thermostat at, and more to do with how the home was originally built. 

Stop giving too much money to APS and SRP and call (602) 926-1650 to get a free home energy audit when you mention this post to see how much you can save.