Have you ever decided not to run your air conditioning because you thought it would be too expensive? Maybe you wished that it was just a little bit cheaper to run the AC as you tossed and turned, desperately trying to fall asleep despite the heat of a sweltering summer night. Maybe you’ve given in to the temptation and turned your cooling system up, only to regret it later when you received that month’s energy bill.
Do any of these situations sound familiar? It doesn’t seem fair to have to choose between frugality and comfort. Still, millions of homeowners are forced to make this choice each year, largely due to increasing energy costs.
We have some good news, though. It doesn’t have to be an extravagant expense to be comfortable in your own home. By investing in air conditioning maintenance and following the five tips below, you’ll find that you can cut your energy bill dramatically while still enjoying the benefits of your indoor cooling system whenever you need it:
1. Try Natural Cooling Techniques
One thing to keep in mind is that there are methods of staying cool that don’t rely on electricity. Natural cooling strategies can take some of the burden off of your air conditioning system—and dollars off your energy bill. These are sometimes referred to as “passive” cooling because once you’ve put them in place, you don’t need to do anything else.
Start by taking advantage of the oldest cooling method there is: shade! A few carefully planted trees near your home can block some of the sunshine during the hottest parts of the day. You can also consider covering your windows with a tinted film to reduce the amount of solar radiation that gets in.
If you are willing to invest a little more, you can also opt for a reflective coating for the shingles on your roof. This will prevent your home from absorbing as much heat from the sun, which can help take even more of the burden off your AC system.
2. Optimize Your AC Settings
A lot of energy is wasted simply because people don’t have their air conditioner settings optimized for their specific homes. According to the US Department of Energy, a great deal of energy is wasted by leaving the thermostat set too low (78 degrees Fahrenheit is the recommendation). You can save a great deal of money on energy usage simply by turning the temperature setting up a few degrees. On smaller, incremental scales, the temperature difference will likely not be noticeable; if it is, you’ll adapt quickly. Once again, the change will be minor enough not to seriously impact your quality of life, but it will make a big difference in energy usage.
Timing is also important for saving money on energy costs. Using a programmable thermostat (as suggested in the DOE link above) can allow you to decide when, exactly, your cooling system cycles on and off. This will allow you to reduce your usage when you are asleep or when you are not home.
3. Insulation and Ventilation
A big cause of wasted energy in homes is improper insulation. You might be spending a great deal of money on cooling, only for heat to seep back into your home through gaps or cracks around windows and doors. Or it may be radiating into your home through your attic. Asking a professional to upgrade your insulation can cut your heating and cooling bills by as much as 15 percent.
The same is true of ventilation. Your cooling system will be a lot more effective if air can circulate throughout your home efficiently. You may also want to consider having some ventilation upgrades added to your home to help your HVAC system do its job.
4. Invest in Maintenance
If your air conditioner isn’t operating at peak capacity, it likely will lose a lot of its efficiency. Investing in regular air conditioning maintenance can help bring it back to its optimal performance level, meaning it will require less energy to perform the same job.
To give just one example of what we mean by this, consider what happens if you don’t have the air ducts in your home cleaned every once in a while. Over time, dust accumulates, which eventually blocks the flow of air. Since ventilation is an important part of cooling, that lack of ventilation will cost you. Your air conditioner will have to work harder to provide the same amount of cooling, but by simply having an HVAC professional remove that buildup of dust, you can get a lot of your efficiency back.
5. Use Smart Technology
Here’s a fun tip! The one where you get to play with some advanced technology. Air conditioners have come a long way in just the last few years, and they happen to be a lot better at what they do than ever before. Part of the reason for that is that they utilize smart technology, which takes advantage of a digital network to link the various parts of your HVAC system together.
With an HVAC system, that digital network uses sensors to monitor the indoor climate. It doesn’t just know the temperature; it can actually make changes based on other contributing factors, including humidity and climate fluctuations, to really get the best out of the system. It can also control HVAC zones in the home, cooling separate areas differently, depending on the need.
So, what’s the fun part? You can control this whole setup with your phone, tablet, or other Wi-Fi-enabled device. Turn your AC on remotely when you’re headed home from work so that the house is nice and cool when you arrive. Or if you’re settled in watching your favorite TV show, turn the thermostat down from the comfort of your couch.
Contact your local residential HVAC contractor and ask them about integrating smart technology into your cooling system today. Experts like All Weather Heating & Cooling, located in Ohio, are experienced with these types of HVAC systems and can get your AC operating at its highest efficiency.
Ask an HVAC professional to help you start saving on your energy costs today.