Disclaimer: This Inside South Florida segment is sponsored by FPL. All opinions and views are of the advertiser and does not reflect the same of WSFL-TV.
Summer 2024 is another one for the record books, with scorching heat having South Florida residences sweating over their energy bills. Francine Freitas, Spokesperson for Florida Power & Light, joined Inside South Florida with the coolest tips to save money on your air conditioning usage.
“AC is a way of life in Florida and, especially during the summer months, your AC is going to have to work longer in order to keep your home cool at the same temperature that it's been throughout the rest of the year,” says Freitas. “When we see those high temperatures, your AC can compose of about 60% of your total energy bill.”
With your AC working extra hard in the sweltering summer months of South Florida, replacing your filters regularly can help keep your AC running smoothly to keep your home at a comfortable temperature. If you own an older AC unit, now is a great time to upgrade to a new unit on a budget through one of FPL’s participating independent contractors for an instant rebate.
“They'll help guide you through the tax rebates as well,” says Freitas. In addition to that, there's our on-call program. What that means is we give credits to the bill for specific appliances that you enroll, and it gives FPL the option to cycle off if there's ever a system emergency, and, regardless of whether they cycle on or off, you still get the bill credits, and it adds up to about a $90 a year, depending on the appliances that you enroll.”
For those looking to save money with their current AC system, there are a few tried-and-true tricks to keep costs and your home’s temperature down.
“If you're not going to be home, go ahead and turn up the AC to 82 degrees,” says Freitas. “If you are going to be home, for each degree you're able to keep your thermostat above 75 can save you 3% to 5% on your cooling costs.”
For more information, visit FPL.com/WaysToSave.
