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COMFORTWhy is my electric bill so high in summer?
Short answer: in a Texas summer, your air conditioner is usually the reason your electric bill is so high. It runs for hours every day to push heat back out of the house. How much it has to run depends on the weather, your thermostat, your electricity rate, and how well your attic, windows, doors and ducts keep heat out.
1. Your AC is working much harder
Cooling is one of the largest uses of electricity in American homes, and homes in the South use more of it than the rest of the country. In a DFW summer, a few extra degrees outside or on the thermostat can add hours of runtime. EIA data puts the average Texas home at roughly 1,100 kWh a month across the year, and summer months often run well above that.
2. Your rate changed
Most of DFW is in Texas's competitive electricity market. If your fixed-rate plan ended, you may have rolled onto a higher variable rate. Compare the price per kWh on this bill with last month's, and check your plan's Electricity Facts Label. If your usage in kWh didn't change but your bill did, it's the rate, not the house.
3. Heat is getting in through the attic
A hot attic with thin insulation heats your ceilings all afternoon. ENERGY STAR recommends R-49 for an uninsulated attic in our climate zone. How much insulation does a DFW home need?
4. Your ducts are leaking
Many DFW homes have ductwork in the attic. ENERGY STAR estimates a typical duct system loses about 20 to 30% of the air moving through it to leaks and poor connections. That cooled air ends up in the attic.
5. Windows and doors are letting heat and air in
Old clear glass on west- and south-facing windows lets in a lot of afternoon heat, and worn weatherstripping lets cooled air out. What to look for in a window
6. Something else changed
- An aging or low-on-refrigerant AC, or a dirty filter
- A pool pump, a second fridge, an electric vehicle, or more people working from home
- A thermostat schedule that was reset or changed
How to find the cause
- Compare kWh used, not just dollars, against the same month last year.
- Check your rate per kWh and your plan's end date.
- Replace the AC filter and have the system serviced if it's due.
- Look in your attic: if you can see the tops of the joists, you're short on insulation.
- Feel for drafts at doors and windows on a hot afternoon.
If upstairs is much hotter than downstairs, read why that happens. For quick no-cost fixes, see our energy-saving tips.
Home energy savings calculator
How much could your home save each month?
Enter your square footage, windows and doors for a quick, broad estimate.
The bottom line
High summer bills come from AC runtime, your rate, and how much heat your home lets in. You can check the first two yourself. For the third, our savings calculator gives a rough estimate, and a free assessment shows exactly where the heat gets in.
Sources: U.S. Energy Information Administration, electricity sales, revenue and price; ENERGY STAR, recommended home insulation R-values; ENERGY STAR, duct sealing.
