About half of your electric bill in the summer goes toward cooling your home, but you can save energy when the heat and humidity rise when you keep your equipment clean and make a few adjustments in your home. These tips offer ways to trim your electric bill without sacrificing comfort.
- Have your cooling system serviced before the cooling season begins. The Department of Energy (DOE) estimates that neglecting the system could increase electric bills by as much as 25 percent.
- Keep the air filter for the blower clean. Check it monthly and replace it when it shows a covering of dust. Dirty filters retard airflow and raise energy bills.
- Clean the outdoor condenser and remove any accumulated debris around it. Make sure all your family members know never to put anything close to or on top of the condenser that would restrict the airflow through it.
- Consider installing a programmable thermostat that will remember to adjust the temperature based on how you occupy the home. When you’re not home, the temperature can be higher, which helps you save energy.
- Tighten up your home. Seal the air leaks around window frames with caulk and apply fresh weatherstripping to exterior door frames.
- Bake and run the dryer during the cooler periods of the day and night. Adding heat to your home during the afternoon or hottest parts of the day increases the demand for cooling from the air conditioner.
- Close the drapes and blinds for south and west windows to reduce the heat radiating through the windows.
- Change your light bulbs to LED or CFLs that use substantially less electricity and create less heat.
- Use fans to circulate the air. Moving air feels cooler than stagnant.
- Make it a habit to pull the plug on the chargers for portable devices. These continue to draw electricity even when they’re not charging anything. It may not seem like much, but collectively, Americans spend $100 million a year on phantom energy.
If you would like assistance to help you save energy with your air conditioner, contact Aladdin Heating & Cooling. We’ve provided HVAC services for the Rochester and Rochester Hills area for more than 65 years.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Detroit, Michigan about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about Save Energy and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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