When you want to save money on summer cooling, it is essential that you find the most energy efficient way to cool your home, especially as temperatures begin to rise. Simple steps, such as making sure your air conditioner is serviced on an annual basis can play a major role in lowering utility bills, but there are plenty of other energy saving tips will help keep these costs down. For example, most people give little thought to simple things, such as cooking dinner, but turning on the oven can introduce more heat, making it necessary for your air conditioner to work harder to keep your home cool and comfortable.
Any time you do something that reduces the amount of heat inside your home, you provide a more energy efficient way for your air conditioner to maintain a cooler temperature. Of course, turning off the oven from time-to-time can reduce excess heat in the kitchen, but it also gives you an opportunity to order take-out, cook on the barbecue or use another cooking method, such as stir frying to make your meals.
When trying to reduce excess heat in the house, consider keeping blinds, drapes or shutters closed, especially on windows that have a direct exposure to the heat of the sun. Hours of sunshine beating on your windows can significantly raise inside temperatures, creating an environment where your air conditioning system will have to work harder just to keep your home cool.
An annual preventative maintenance agreement can also be an effective way to manage high cooling costs. When you service your unit once per year, your air conditioning system will be able to deliver more reliable cooling, but it will also be operating at its peak of energy efficiency. An energy efficient cooling system can significantly reduce cooling costs, making energy bills much more manageable. In addition to checking your HVAC equipment for proper refrigerant levels and operation, your service technician will ensure you have clean filters. An air conditioning system with clean filters will function more smoothly and energy efficiently than one that has dirty or clogged filters.
While your current air conditioning system might be in good condition, you might want to consider the benefits of a programmable thermostat. You can have a programmable thermostat installed for your current system, but still enjoy the energy savings of being able to program thermostat to meet your particular cooling needs.
A good quality cooling system relies on dependable equipment as well as professional maintenance. When you have your equipment serviced every year, you will have the benefits of better performance, more energy efficient operation and a longer lifespan. Always keep your HVAC equipment in top operating condition with a professional HVAC technician.