HELP! I need suggestions on how to lower my electric bill!!

[PheenixJobless]

Sadly there is not a lot a person can do to prevent high electric costs in the desert. It eats up most people's extra money, especially during the 6 months of summer.

Try looking at some of the different electric plans to give you ideas on how you can try to save a little.

[Kimballette]

Originally Posted by PheenixJobless

Sadly there is not a lot a person can do to prevent high electric costs in the desert.

I don't find anything sad about it. If you live in a cold climate, you pay more for heating - in the desert, you spend more on cooling. Neither a happy nor sad situation. Just reality. Research methods for saving energy by insulating, use energy efficient appliances, and relax.

[PhoenixAirConcerns]

Originally Posted by Zippyman

The other disadvantage is that legionella bacteria thrives in 100 degree water. Google it...

Good point. We have had this trouble ourselves; [mod cut-- off topic]

[CptnRn]

It is not always the HVAC system. Duct leaks are often a major contributer to high energy bills. Please refer to this thread about a seminar I attended: https://www.city-data.com/forum/austi...ac-system.html

The cost to add insulation and seal leaks in a home are often the most cost effective things you can do. Beyond that if you have an energy efficient HVAC system then your best bets rare solar shading, planting trees, vines, etc. to shade roof, east and west exposures, as well as overhangs or trees to shade glass on the South side.

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by greendesert

We live in a 2 story home with crappy 1 pane windows that is actually about 3000 sqft (garage was turned into bedrooms). The first summer we spent here, our monthly bill went to about 450. That was NOT ok by me, so I set out to do stuff about it. Insulated cracks, doors, etc. Put solar screens (the 90% ones) on all the windows that get sun (this has made a noticeable difference). Another thing that we did is last summer we basically stopped using the upstairs bedrooms and moved downstairs. This has made a huge difference, lowering the bill to barely over $300. I know that's an inconvenience, but at at the moment we need to save. We moved back upstairs for the winter and that was just great because the heat goes up.
Through the winter I installed some shutters on some of the big windows and I know that will help too by trapping another layer of air and providing more insulation and shade. They're not pretty. I got them off Craigslist and modified them to fit the windows, but it only cost me $100, and to me that's worth it to have more privacy and lower bills.
The biggest thing we could do next would be to get a new AC units since ours are 27 years old. BTW, I maintain those too myself as much as I can except for the stuff that really needs a professional.
Oh another thing I did was to clean the coils on the AC units. I am sure that it made a difference. it's not hard to do either. You buy a spray at homedepot and spray it in there, brush with a soft brush and hose it off. It also helps to straighten out the fins on the AC condenser if they're bent. you can buy a little comb to do that, and it increasses efficiency.

Before it gets to much hotter in the attic, go up there and check the ducts and duct boots/register boxes. It is easy to seal the ducts with duct tape and to seal the register boxes with mastic. This is something any home owner can do. The mastic is easy to apply, just smear it on to seal all of the joints, you don't even have to wear gloves as the mastic is easy to peal off of your hands after it dries a little.

Another easy and cheap way to insulate windows is to build a frame out of 1x2 lumber, sized to fit snugly in the window opening and staple a sheet of clear plastic over it, wrapped around the edges. You are right that every additional layer of material and trapped air space helps insulate the room. This will let light in but the view won't be worth much as the plastic makes it fuzzy. But in rooms where you don't need the view this can help.