Air Conditioning: Tips To Save Energy This Summer

The smart way to cope with the heat

When the summer season arrives, and the temperature rises, we resort to different means to make sure conditions inside our homes become livable.

Our last resort, in this case, is air conditioning, something that becomes almost a necessity, especially in places where the heat is extreme.

Recently, a report by the American Council for Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) has concluded that the Hispanic population in the United States pays more in electricity bills per square foot than others. This is because of a wide variety of reasons that primarily includes but is not limited to their homes being less efficient (because of old appliances, high consumption bulbs, windows that do not insulate well, etc.).

Organizations such as Voces Verdes, who were participants in this study, consider that it is also due to lack of information on the end of the US population as a whole and not only the Hispanics. They claim that people in the US do not have knowledge of how to save on their electricity bill, and is an area where they have focused their efforts a lot.

Among the things that use up electricity in our homes, the air conditioning unit probably stands as the most prominent user. According to Austin Energy, air conditioning can make up to 70% of the total energy bills in the warmer regions of the country.

The use of air conditioners can trigger the electricity bill to hit our budget hard. Fortunately, there are several things you can do to make your air conditioning unit work more efficiently and help you cut down on energy bills during the summers. Here is a list of those things, prepared by the experts at Comfy Climate.

Do not cool the entire neighborhood

When you don’t have a newly built house, the likelihood that cold air will escape either through poorly sealed doors and windows or if the attic has insulation issues of some sort, increases.

To determine the efficiency of your house in relation to air conditioning, ask your electric company or a contractor to do an audit of energy expenditure. These certified auditors inspect your house to find any leaks and suggest the most effective ways to make it more efficient, so you do not end up unknowingly utilizing more electricity.

You can also do a less comprehensive review yourself. Stand at the door of the house and move your hand next to the slots of doors or windows. If you feel that the air is escaping through them or find small cracks, then the least you could do is replace the rubber seals in the frame.

Modernize yourself

If you do not have the latest smart thermostat, -like the Lyric, Ecobee, Nest or Lux – we believe you should get one ASAP. Intelligent thermostats regulate air conditioning and heating when you leave home, and save you money. In addition, you can regulate it remotely through a mobile application. There are models of these that are designed to work with Samsung SmartThings, Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Wink, Apple HomeKit, and other smart home platforms.

Place the thermostat on an appropriate wall

The place where you place the thermostat plays an important role when it comes to efficiency. If you install the thermostat on a wall right beside or in front of a window and expose it directly to sunlight, then it will have the air conditioner work longer than necessary because it perceives that there is more heat in the room.

Keep the blinds closed

A window that lets in the sun not only causes the thermostat to heat up but also heats the room unnecessarily. During the hottest hours, close the blinds. This also prevents, to some extent, the cold air inside the house from seeping through the glass due to its insulation effect.

Install a ceiling fan

Sometimes you do not need to turn the thermostat down to counteract the heat. In a report published by the NRDC (National Resource Defense Council), the use of a fan makes the temperature feel cooler by around 10 degrees and provides a 90 percent saving of the energy used by air conditioners.

If you are someone who is fascinated by advanced technology, you have the option to install smart fans that sync with an app, so you can program the hours to turn them on and off, as well as the speed, all with remote control.

Increase the temperature when you leave

There is a myth that you can save money if you don’t change the temperature on the AC when you are going out because it does not have to work much to re-cool the home. But it is not like that. Lauren Urbanek, a specialist at the NRDC, explains that the best and most economical way we can use air conditioning is to increase the temperature on the thermostat when leaving the house.

The air conditioners work at their highest efficiency in long periods. Therefore, it is better to raise the temperature when leaving home.

Do not lower the temperature much

Always set the thermostat at the highest possible temperature if you want to save money. A change as little as a couple of degrees can be translated into big savings.

The Nebraska Energy Office claims that you can achieve an annual 10 percent saving on cooling costs. This is possible if the temperature on the thermostat is raised by 10 to 15 degrees for one-third of the day, i.e. 8 hours. For its part, the Department of Energy highly recommends maintaining the temperature at 78 degrees when you are at home.

Have the air conditioning unit well-maintained at all times

An improperly maintained unit can consume more energy than it should because it has to work harder than usual. Having an air conditioner repair and maintenance service such as Comfy Climate can greatly help in bringing down your energy bills. Our experts can also advise you on other steps that you can take to ensure maximum energy savings.

So, if you are someone who has been noticing unusually high energy bills, we highly recommend taking the aforementioned steps. Save money for yourself and go green to save the environment at the same time.