Cheap? Cool.

This summer's hot trend: Cutting back on energy use

Kelly Beverly works from her Cambridge home as a marketer for a technology company, but with electricity costs on the rise this summer, she is hesitant to crank up her air conditioning.

Instead, Beverly takes her laptop anywhere there is a free seat, Wi-Fi, and cool air - like Starbucks, the library, or Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where her husband, Rob, is a post-graduate professor. It's one of the small ways the Beverlys are trying to manage their electricity bill.

"I wish we could do more about it," the expectant mom said recently during a visit to the air-conditioned CambridgeSide Galleria.

Along with higher gasoline prices, Massachusetts residents are faced with ever-higher utility bills. According to NStar, the average family's monthly electricity bill this summer will jump to $103, a 12 percent increase from last year.

As a result, some customers are seeking cheaper ways to stay cool. NStar and National Grid, the two main providers of electricity in Massachusetts, said enrollment in their energy-efficiency programs remains robust as summer begins, a time when interest typically wanes. Meanwhile, retailers have noticed a surge in sales of appliances that use less energy.

Some of the same forces that are driving up prices at the pump are also affecting electricity costs. About 60 percent of New England power plants run on natural gas or oil, and increases in the costs of these fuels get passed through to electricity prices, according to ISO New England, the organization that runs the region's power grid. Crude oil prices have soared more than 40 percent and natural gas prices more than 70 percent since the beginning of the year. The result: sharply higher electric rates.

"We are competing with ourselves," said Mary H. Novak, an energy economist at Global Insight in Waltham. "We are producing more natural gas, but we are also demanding more natural gas and using it in ways that we previously used oil."

With no rate relief on the horizon, some people are changing their behavior, such as by swapping their energy-draining air conditioners for more efficient ceiling fans. Or by buying air conditioners that require less electricity. Sales of energy-efficient light bulbs, air conditioners, and humidifiers have skyrocketed recently, said Bill Shea, general manager at Home Depot in Watertown.

At the store last Saturday, first-time homeowners Brad and Karianne Noble - like many other people - were in the market for an air conditioner. They bypassed the cheaper models in favor of units marked with the Energy Star logo - a signal that they use less energy. The Energy Star program is a joint effort of the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy. Products approved under the program exceed the government's minimum requirements for efficiency.

The Nobles, who live in Arlington, said they didn't count on utility prices going up when they figured out how much they could afford for a house.

"When we budgeted for buying a home, gas was a certain price and electricity was a certain price," Karianne said. "And now there are all these additional costs we didn't plan for."

NStar, which provides electricity to nearly half the state's residents, is hearing similar concerns from other customers.

From January through May, the company said, about 2,000 customers requested an in-home inspection from an energy auditor - 40 percent more than during the same period last year. And requests show no sign of slowing down.

"We are still keeping our auditors busy," said NStar spokesman Michael Durand. "Summertime is typically when they get vacations, and they are still getting them. But they are just working a little harder before and after."

Other consumers are employing age-old tricks to keep energy consumption down as rates rise - such as nagging. For example, Carlitta Horne said she constantly reminds her three daughters to turn off lights and open blinds so the natural sunlight can illuminate their Dorchester home. She hasn't turned on her air conditioner, even when a heat wave enveloped the region earlier this month.

"We used to keep the computer running all night, now we even turn that off," she said.

But Peter Hughes, general manager at Economy Hardware in Cambridge, said not everyone is so frugal. Despite rising energy costs, some people do not put a price tag on comfort.

"When it gets hot, people just want to stay cool and they don't care how much it costs," Hughes said.

Angel Jennings can be reached at ajennings@globe.com.