As summer heats up, Georgia homeowners look for ways to reduce their energy costs

As temperatures get hotter, many homeowners are looking for ways to keep their energy costs low over the summer.

Karimah Collins is one of those homeowners, and as a first-time buyer, she says she specifically shopped for an energy-efficient new-build with her real estate agent.

"They talked to me about some of the things that having a townhome will help me save costs on," Collins said, "Like the insulation, all of those things really help … They're cost-effective."

Collins says she has different cooling challenges throughout her house.

"Sometimes it's a little warmer upstairs," Collins said. "So, just trying to find ways to keep it cooler upstairs in the summer months and learning the best way as far as keeping the sun out."

Collins gets her utilities from Greystone Power, but on Monday, a representative from Georgia Power came to her home. Georgia Power offers free in-home walkthroughs to offer advice on how to save on energy bills even if you aren't a customer.

Experts say one of the biggest ways to save money is by turning up the thermostat when you're not at home.  

"Every degree that you go up can save you 3 to 5 percent on your electricity bill. And with air conditioning being about 30 to 50 percent of your overall summer bill, that could save you a lot of money," Georgia Power spokesperson Matthew Kent said.

Some other suggestions Kent shared included running major appliances at night, sealing windows and doors, setting your thermostat on a schedule, and keeping blinds closed during the day.

Melvin Robinson, the owner of Integrity Air and Home Inspection, says homeowners have more obstacles to saving money on power and HVAC costs in recent years. He says rising costs are disrupting the landscape and that he and his team of technicians have had to make more preparations and accommodations to support customers.

"Service work is astronomical. It has increased probably 30 percent since 2019, and that's one, because of going up on tariff prices. We have inflation. We have parts that's less available," Robinson said. "We have actually mom-and-pop companies that are smaller going out of business. So when you have one company that's taking care of the whole area, that cost will double or possibly triple because now you have a monopoly of one company doing everybody's service."  

Collins says embarking on her first summer as a new homeowner is bringing on new responsibilities, but she's taking it all in stride.

"Not having an apartment or renting - some of those things that I have to do that I didn't have to do before. And just, you know, like maybe having to hire people to come out and do that," she said. "So that's a little different."

As a new homeowner, she is facing different challenges for a different season in her home life.