By Edith Moreno
3-5 minute read
Late this spring, my wife and I welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world. Like many new parents we started budgeting for diapers, childcare, and all the other expenses that come with a growing family. One cost I hadn’t fully considered was our electric bill.
One late night while feeding our daughter, I looked around the nursery and noticed all of the devices humming away: the air purifier, bottle maker, fan, and smart crib. Combined with the increased use of our washing machine, new bottle sanitizer, and the extra air conditioning (AC) needed to keep our baby comfortable, it became clear that our energy use was about to change.
Normally, we keep our thermostat at 77°F and rely on fans to keep costs low. As a kid, I grew up tolerating warmer environments and staying cool in Southeast LA meant opening the windows, running fans, or playing on the street until the sun went down. But newborns can't regulate their body temperature, and "sweating it out" isn't an option for a baby.
We live in a 1990s tri-level townhome, and our bedrooms upstairs are always several degrees warmer. With our old thermostat reading the downstairs temperature, the AC would shut off long before the upstairs baby's room was cool. After weeks of running up and down stairs all night to adjust the controls, I upgraded to a smart thermostat paired with a sensor in the baby’s room. Now, the AC runs based on her room’s actual temperature. And to force more airflow upstairs, I closed most of the downstairs vents.
As an LADWP customer, I saved $100 on a Google Nest Smart Thermostat with a remote sensor ($279.99) via the energy efficiency marketplace. Basic models without the sensor are available if you want a cheaper option. Overall, the purchase and installation process was straightforward. Once it arrived, I was able to install it myself and connect the remote sensor to the baby’s room.
But the experience also highlighted potential barriers. Installation requires a smartphone, downloading apps, and setting up accounts. And while the $100 rebate helped reduce the overall cost to $179.99 plus the $9.99 for shipping, for some households that remaining expense can be a struggle for families on a tight budget.
Now, I can control the temperature from my phone while feeding the baby, set automated rules, and track how much energy we use in a day, week, or month. This allows me to have more control over what my bill will be, which is important to me given my latest June and July bill was $437.06, a nearly 50% increase in cost compared with the same period last year. Since I set up the Nest mid cycle, I can't say how much worse that bill might’ve been without it, but I know I'm far better equipped to manage the next one.
I’ve worked in the energy sector for most of my career, but becoming a mother gave me a whole new perspective on energy affordability. Energy is about more than keeping the lights on, it is basic comfort and safety for families living paycheck to paycheck who cannot afford to turn up the AC. Taking control of your energy use is not as simple as buying a new device either. High upfront costs, tech barriers, and hidden savings programs keep the very tools that could lower bills out of reach for the people who need them most.
My experience reinforces something OPA heard directly from residents during our listening sessions across Los Angeles: customers want greater control over their bills. Smart thermostats and rebates are one way to help customers manage their use, but these tools are most effective when they are affordable, accessible, and easy to navigate.
As LADWP continues deploying Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) to give customers greater insight into their energy use, the customer experience should remain at the center. Giving customers timely information, accessible tools, and meaningful ways to manage their usage can help families make informed decisions about their energy needs and household budgets.