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WAKE FOREST, N.C. — Sweltering temperatures continue across the U.S., including in North Carolina. Spectrum News 1 meteorologists say, so far, this is the third hottest summer Raleigh has ever seen.

With extreme heat comes skyrocketing energy usage and bills.

Leo Hormaza goes to great lengths to save money and reduce his carbon footprint. One part of his morning routine is shutting the blinds on the east side of the house.

“In the morning, we get a lot of sun coming in, so I want to keep the sun out,” Hormaza said. “Keep the house cool.”

He typically keeps his house anywhere between 76 and 78 degrees.

When it’s time to use heat-generating appliances, like a toaster oven or an air fryer, Hormaza heads outside, where he has a table and power source dedicated to these appliances.

“Anything that is a heat source that I can plug in outside, I’ll bring outside,” Hormaza said. “The toaster oven is one of the biggest ones. I mean this thing is going up to 350, 400 [degrees] Fahrenheit. So keeping this heat source outside of the house makes the air conditioning work a lot easier.”

He saves approximately $55 a month on his electricity bill. Some days he brings out his laser thermometer.

“Basically you want to make sure that your house is air tight, and with this, you can check for drafts. Anytime you see a spike in hot temperatures, you know that there might be hot air coming in from the outside,” Hormaza said. “So you wanna make sure those are sealed up, caulked up, weatherstripping, whatever you need to do to seal that draft.”

Hormaza says it’s not just about saving money. His last job was in renewable energy, which pushed him to become more environmentally-conscious. Hormaza’s wife and two sons, ages 5 and 8, are onboard.

Before bed, Hormaza turns the temperature to 80 degrees. The entire family sleeps in the same bedroom, relying on a window air conditioning unit to keep them cool.

“I have this tiny unit cooling our bedroom, instead of the whole house,” Hormaza said. “And that way it’s a lot more energy efficient, and you save good money on your electric bill. We all agree that we have to save energy, energy efficient, save money and reduce our carbon footprint.”

Hormaza says he knows that some people may think his routine is extreme. But it doesn’t feel like extra work to him because it’s a part of his everyday living.

Spectrum News 1 spoke to Ashley Ward, a senior policy associate at Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions. She says extreme energy-saving techniques, like Hormaza’s, may help people lower their power bills but major changes are needed to really make an impact.

“What we have to have now though, individual measures are not alone going to solve this challenge,” Ward said. “We have to have the structural change that comes along with it, which means changes in our infrastructure, our transportation, agricultural practices, housing and buildings, manufacturing, plastics.”