BEAUMONT, Texas — Intense heat is slamming through Southeast Texas, meaning residents are cranking up their air conditioning units hoping to get relief from blistering temperatures outside.
Entergy Customer Service Manager Paul Blackburn says they offer programs to help your home stay energy efficient.
"We will send contractors out to your homes, to inspect your homes and make sure they are as energy efficient as possible at little to no cost," Blackburn.
They'll inspect several areas of your home to make sure the cool air is staying in.
"Window seals, if you look at your seals and you see cracks around the window that's air escaping your home, cool air that is going outside, meaning your air conditioner has to run harder," Blackburn said.
AC units are most likely the most expensive appliance in your home.
Paul Hope with Consumer Reports says the AC won't have to work as hard if you replace air filters regularly.
Hope also suggests you close vents to the rooms you aren't using and maybe even turn the dial down just a few degrees.
"Generally speaking every degree you raise your thermostat you will save about three percent on your cooling costs. So, if you are paying 300 bucks, 400 bucks a month in summer you could be saving over 120 dollars with one simple change," Hope said.
Experts say fans are an even cheaper alternative. They use 80% less energy than air conditioning.
"Using your ceiling fans to keep your air circulated, but if that is not getting as cool as you need it to and you have to run your air conditioner that's fine. You just want to offset your A/C with your ceiling fan as much as possible," Blackburn said.
As for the best times to turn on your AC system and save money, Blackburn says that depends on each person's individual home.
"It just really depends on the customers home, how their system is set up, how many square feet," Blackburn said.
Entergy provided this statement to 12News about their plan to serve customers during extreme weather:
“We plan extensively to continue serving our customers during extreme weather that drives an increase in energy usage, like the potential record heat expected this weekend in our area. And we are closely monitoring the reliability of our electric system around the clock. Entergy’s reliability coordinator, MISO, has indicated sufficient generation capacity exists to meet electricity demand for their planning year that began June 1 and includes the summertime months. In the unlikely event that a shortfall of power generation capacity in the region arises, we will work with MISO to minimize the impact to our customers and keep them informed throughout the process.”