{"id":423270,"date":"2026-08-04T03:50:24","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T03:50:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/423270\/"},"modified":"2026-08-04T03:50:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T03:50:24","slug":"triple-digit-heat-drives-up-ac-bills-but-simple-window-sealing-can-cut-costs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/423270\/","title":{"rendered":"Triple-digit heat drives up AC bills, but simple window sealing can cut costs"},"content":{"rendered":"

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK\/KBFX) Another stretch of triple-digit temperatures is pushing air conditioners to work overtime, and many families may feel the impact when their utility bills arrive. <\/p>\n

But staff at Floyd\u2019s General Store say cutting energy costs doesn\u2019t always require expensive upgrades.<\/p>\n

Robert Gingras, Floyd\u2019s general manager, said one low-cost option is sealing up places where cool air can escape. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have foam installation that you can put around the edges of your windows that helps seal any drafts or leaks,\u201d Gingras said.<\/p>\n

\"Triple-digit<\/p>\n

Triple-digit heat drives up AC bills, but simple window sealing can cut costs (KBAK\/KBFX)<\/p>\n

Gingras said many of the products are designed to be easy for homeowners to install themselves. <\/p>\n

\u201cNo and most of it’s self-adhesive so it’s really easy to install,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The store also sells door sweeps, which can help block gaps under doors. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then we also have the door sweeps. That is a rubber installation that you put on the bottom of the door to help prevent air gaps in the heat or the cool air from coming out,\u201d Gingras said. <\/p>\n

Items like these sell at Floyd\u2019s for around $16 or less.<\/p>\n

Utility experts also recommend adjusting thermostat settings to reduce costs. <\/p>\n

\"Triple-digit<\/p>\n

Triple-digit heat drives up AC bills, but simple window sealing can cut costs (KBAK\/KBFX)<\/p>\n

PG&E spokesperson Paul Moreno said setting the thermostat colder won\u2019t cool a home faster. <\/p>\n

\u201cNo, the air conditioner only works at one speed. So just set it at seventy-eight degrees or whatever your target temperature is. And don\u2019t overshoot that,\u201d Moreno said.<\/p>\n

Moreno also suggested shifting some household chores to cooler parts of the day, when energy demand is lower. <\/p>\n

\"Triple-digit<\/p>\n

Triple-digit heat drives up AC bills, but simple window sealing can cut costs (KBAK\/KBFX)<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also advise doing activities such as running your dish washer, your washing machine, vacuum before the peak hours of four p.m. to nine p.m.,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK\/KBFX) Another stretch of triple-digit temperatures is pushing air conditioners to work overtime, and many families…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":257876,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[151,153,152],"class_list":["post-423270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bakersfield","tag-bakersfield","tag-bakersfield-headlines","tag-bakersfield-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423270","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=423270"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423270\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/257876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=423270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=423270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=423270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}