NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – Electric bills for the month of July have been delivered and, as you might expect, they are a little higher than usual as the hot summer temperatures linger in Middle Tennessee.

News 2 spoke with the Nashville Electric Service about what customers can do to stay cool and keep their bills lower.

“The biggest impact of your bill is the temperature,” explained Jim Purcell with NES. “So, if you keep your house at 78 degrees, that’s what we recommend, every setting below 78 degrees is five percent more on the cooling cost.”

In addition to keeping your thermostat at 78 degrees, other things like caulking and weather-stripping windows and doors can also help save money.

“There’s a lot of air leakage under the doors and at the bottom of the door,” Purcell said.

He added that he also recommends a filter whistle.

“You put this [filter whistle] on either side of your air filter and when it becomes dirty, it will whistle,” he explained.  “You know one of the main things you need to do for your heating and air conditioning system is change your filter.  You should do that monthly.  But if you forget, this will remind you.”

Purcell also warns customers about phantom loading.

“That’s when your phone charges and other items are using electricity when they are plugged into the wall and we actually show them these power strips that are kind of ‘smart.’ They allow you to turn one item off and it turns the rest of the things connected to it off. It’s called a Smart Strip,” he explained.

LED light bulbs can also save on energy costs since it can use as much as 98 percent less electricity than others.

For more energy-saving tips, click here.

Click here for a do it yourself home energy audit.

For information on the next Nashville Electric Service Neighborhood Workshop, visit nespower.com.

For the latest weather conditions, visit wkrn.com/weather.