If you're in the habit of opening your electric bill with one eye, then you'll enjoy the eye-opening ideas we're about to share with you from a local electrician about how to reduce – yes, reduce – your energy costs this summer.

While there's little you can do to combat rising utility rates – besides write a letter to your electric company – you might be surprised at how much money you'll save when you:

• Identify air leaks in your home and then seal them up. One-third of the air in your home seeps outdoors through the walls, ceilings and floors; air leaks in your ducts are right behind. So search for leaks: in your attic, places where walls and ceilings meet and around plumbing, door and window frames and electrical outlets and switches. This is not nearly as difficult as it sounds. Simply hold a long-armed lighter in front of suspected air leaks. If the flame flickers toward you, you've found a leak that should be plugged with caulk or weatherstripping. 
  
  About 20 percent of the air that moves through ducts in many homes escapes through poor connections, leaks and holes, so it's a smart project to undertake. If scouring for duct leaks falls outside your comfort zone, call a professional. Not only does The Hignell Companies offer services from local electricians, but we have heating and air experts too.
   
• Once your home is sealed – and you're containing the cold air you're paying for – be sure to insulate your home. Refer to an insulation guide produced by the U.S. Department of Energy to determine how much insulation you'll need in your attic, crawlspace and other drafty areas of your home.
   
• Increase your thermostat setting, and the sooner the better so that your family can get used to it before the hottest temperatures arrive. If you can be comfortable with the thermostat set at, say, 78 degrees, terrific. For every degree you can adjust your thermostat, you can save between 2 and 5 percent on your energy bill, the U.S. Department of Energy says. Try setting the thermostat a few degrees higher once the sun sets, overnight, during the day and whenever else no one is home for long stretches of time.
   
• Install ceiling fans so that they can work with your air conditioner to keep your electric bill in check. Set in a counterclockwise direction the summer, ceiling fans create a wind chill effect that will make any room feel about 5 degrees cooler. Granted, a ceiling fan won't alter the temperature in a room, but if you feel cooler, you can raise your thermostat setting. If you don't feel comfortable doing this yourself, contact a local electrician to help.
   
• Install a programmable thermostat, which allows you to set the temperature in your home for a day, five days or a full week ahead of time – so you don't have to jump up and down to adjust the thermostat or kick yourself for letting the air conditioner run while no one is home to enjoy the cool air. You stand to save as much as 10 percent on your energy bill by turning up your thermostat between seven and 10 degrees for eight hours a day, the U.S. Department of Energy says.
   
• Check your air conditioner filter once a month during the summer and keep a spare filter handy. And don't forget an annual “tune-up” to keep your AC working cleanly and efficiently, which means it won't have to run as hard.

The sooner you get started, the sooner you'll save eye-popping money on your electric bill. And be sure to contact a local electrician in Chico at Experts In Your Home if you encounter questions along the way.

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