Find out where Your Utility Money Goes

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the huge difference between my electric bill and a neighbor's despite our similar lifestyles and apartments.

I subsequently arranged an onsite home audit, a free service FPL offers to its customers. The energy specialists examine your home, analyze your bill and target areas where you can save.

Here's what happened: Raudel Valdes and Gabriel Palacios, FPL energy management specialists, arrived at my home carrying a laptop and printer. The central air conditioning unit immediately caught their attention.

After a thorough examination and a series of tests, the team offered these conclusions:

Beware of dust: Particles near the thermostat, on the AC pipes and near the air ducts seriously compromise the unit's efficiency and accuracy.

Repair damaged coils: Disfigured coils on the main AC unit caused the air conditioner to run longer to reach the desired temperature.

Fill the gaps: Space around the air conditioning pipes and the gap between the ceiling and the air duct force the AC unit to eat up energy.

Insulate the water heater: To save space, our water heater is directly below the air conditioning unit. The heat from the water heater forces the air conditioner to work harder. The FPL team recommended insulating the main copper pipe that leads to the water heater. This step will contain heat coming out of the water heater and improve cooling system's efficiency.

Shop for a replacement: Our aging air conditioner is an energy hog. We could save a fortune by asking the landlord to replace the model. ''With age, every appliance starts using more power,'' Valdes said. FPL offers rebates to consumers installing approved AC systems at http://fpl.com/residential/savings/index.shtml.

On the warm winter day the FPL team visited, the specialists calculated we had an hourly electric bill of 50 cents, including 40 cents to power the air conditioner.