Tired of High Energy Bills? Isaksen Solar Reveals the Hidden Causes

Every summer homeowners receive higher electricity bills. This leads most of us to ask “Why is my electric bill so high?” The quick answer: Homeowners are turning on air conditioners, opening their pools and their kids are home more using electronic devices. These all add up to a large increase in electricity usage.

Sadly, high summer electric bills feel like an expected yearly tradition. For homeowners that pay close attention, they may also see their bills are even higher than last year.

Around this time, Isaksen Solar, a locally and employee-owned solar company in Massachusetts, likes to ask their customers a couple of questions about summer and high electricity bills:

• Have you ever taken the time to see how much these bills are increasing each season?
• Do you know how much your bill has increased from last year?
• Do you know how to save on your electric bill this summer?
• Have you heard that there is a way to stop paying these large electric bills every year?

Isaksen Solar answered these questions for you so you can have less surprises and can start taking back control of your energy expenses.

Why Do Electricity Bills Go Up In the Summer?

Summer Air Conditioning

• The most common reason electricity bills go up in the summer is the need to cool homes from the summer heat. Homeowners across Massachusetts and Rhode Island are turning on their air conditioners to beat the heat. Unfortunately, air conditioning requires a lot of power to run. As the days get hotter your home is using a lot more electricity than in the winter months.
• Your average central air conditioner uses about 3,000 to 3,500 watts per hour and window units use between 900 and 1440 watts per hour.
• Depending on usage homeowners can expect to pay $14 to $210 more a month just from air conditioning their homes in the summer

Pool Pump and Heated Pools

• Swimming pools are great place addition to a backyard for the summer. Offering a place to cool down outside and not use as much air condition. However swimming pools come with their own energy expense.,
• Pool pumps need to run most of the day to keep your pool clean. Running this pool pump everyday can add $80 to your electricity bill at the end of the month.
• If your pool has a heater then you could be adding $20 to $50 to a monthly electricity bill.

Kids At Home

• With school out for the summer, kids could be home for 8 more hours in a day. This means more time on gaming devices, televisions and laptops that use electricity. Your children are also using household appliances more which adds to your electricity usage.

How Much Did Electricity Bills Increase From Last Summer?

On top of added electricity usage in the summer, the cost of electricity has also increased since last year.

• In Massachusetts, electricity rates are 25% higher than last year. Rising to 14.12 cents/kwh compared to 11.49 cents/kwh last year. Solar companies in Massachusetts can help you see how much money this cost you this year.
• In Rhode Island, electricity rates are 32% higher than last year. Rising to 10.13 cents/kwh compared to 7.80 cents/kwh last year. RI Solar companies will be able to show you how much this increase has cost you.

How To Take Control Of Your Summer Electric Costs Permanently

The fact is that every year electricity prices will continue to get higher. While prices increase in the winter and decrease in the summer, overall homeowners are paying more each year. Most homeowners think their summer electric bill is something they cannot avoid paying. Other homeowners that know this is not true have solar panels.

Homeowners with solar panels do not need to worry about increases in electricity prices of electricity usage in the summer. Their solar panels produce enough energy to cover their usage.

When their usage increases in the summer their production also increases from the increased sunlight in the summer months. In some cases homeowners are still able to produce more than their summer usage and build up credits that they can use over the summer and the rest of the year.

This makes spring and summer time the ideal to install solar panels. Homeowners can start saving when they are using the most electricity and are producing energy in the peak sunlight seasons to have credits for the shorter days in the winter.

Since solar panels power homes with renewable energy from the sun homeowners no longer need to pay the forever changing prices based on electricity demand and the prices of natural gas.

An additional benefit to solar panels in the summer is that they can actually keep your house and attic spaces cooler. Since the sun won’t be directly hitting your rooftop shingles most of the heat is transferred to the solar panels keeping undesirable heat out of your home.

Are Solar Panels A Good Fit For Your Home?

Solar panels are not a good fit for every home. The only way to know if solar panels make sense for you is to have a free consultation and get your free solar quote. To get started on yours, give Isaksen Solar a call at (508)717-3820 so that they can answer your questions or fill out their Get A Quote page today!