Air Conditioner
When you get home and your home feels hot and humid, avoid turning your air conditioner’s temperature down lower than your goal temperature. Many people think by setting your thermostat really low will cool down your space faster. This is false: it won’t cool down any quicker, and it could actually damage your system or cause it to wear out sooner by having to work harder to cool your home.
Make sure to have your cooling system cleaned and inspected once every year. This could save you a lot of money over time by assuring everything is functioning and running correctly, smoothly, and as efficiently as possible. This will not only save shave dollars off your monthly utility bill, but it will also prolong the life of your system.
Thermostat
Turn your thermostat up as high as you can without making your home uncomfortable on a hot day. When you leave the house, raise the temperature up higher; the closer your thermostat is to the temperature outside, the less it will have to work to cool your home and the more money you will save! Energy.gov advises to lower your temperature to 78°F when you are at home and raise it higher when you leave.
Having a programmable thermostat will make it easier to change your temperature back and forth, and you can set it to change on its own at certain times of the day, such as at night when it typically cools down.
Fans & Windows
Turn on your ceiling fans in rooms with people in them. If you leave the room, turn off the fan. Ceiling fans don’t lower the temperature of a room; they simply cool you down when you feel air blow past you. According to Energy.gov, if you run your ceiling fan while the air conditioner is also running, the ceiling fan will allow you to turn your thermostat down 4°F without lowering the comfort level.
At night, when it’s cooler, consider turning off your air conditioning and opening windows. Then, in the morning, shut your windows and blinds to trap the cool air inside. Special window coverings and treatments are available to reduce heat transfer through windows that you can also check into.
If you don’t like to run your air conditioner at all, or you don’t have a central air system, consider installing window fans throughout your house. Window fans use much less energy than air conditioners, and in many cases, they can be very effective at cooling the home even on hotter days. Remember that fans don’t remove humidity from the air like air conditioners do. They can, however, pull in cooler air from outside and work to move that air throughout the home and push hot air outside, if set up effectively.
If you have a multi-level home, add window fans in upstairs rooms (particularly bedrooms) and open up the windows downstairs if possible. In rooms with fans, close all other windows tightly. Try to place fans in windows that are in the shade the majority of the day so you are pulling in cooler air from outside.
Vents
During your bath or shower, make sure to turn on the bathroom fan to suck up the heat and humidity produced and to expel it outside. In the kitchen, when you’re baking or cooking, turn on the vent fans to expel this heat to the outdoors as well. Make sure your fans are venting to the outdoors, not into the attic or another room in your home!
A Few More Energy-Saving Tips
- On really hot or humid days, don’t use the oven. Instead, use the microwave or outside grill.
- Turn off any lights and electronics when you leave a room or your house.
- Instead of taking baths that use a lot of hot water, take a short shower.
- Seal leaks in faucets, showerheads, etc. and greatly reduce hot water usage.
- Make sure your attic is well insulated.
- Make sure all vents are open throughout your home at all times and nothing is preventing the air from flowing freely, such as furniture or drapes.
If you need a new air conditioning unit, Cyclone Contracting has many options! These include central air conditioning, heat pumps, ductless HVAC, and geothermal systems. Contact us for any of your heating and cooling needs!
If you haven’t had your air conditioner tuned up yet this year, give us a call.