When summer heat starts, the only relief from the heat is to turn on the cool air inside your home. Since air conditioners have become such a large part of our everyday lives, it is difficult to imagine how people lived before the modern convenience, but they managed it. You can save money on your air conditioner use by employing some of the same tips as your ancestors to fight the heat during hot summer weather.
Protect Your Windows
Reducing the amount of heat in your home is as simple as covering your windows. You can cover them with light-blocking curtains for the biggest impact, but any curtain will help keep the heat outside of your home. You can block the light even further by making sturdy foam cut-outs to go inside each window frame and block the light.
Close Your Vents and Promote Airflow
How the air moves through your home will affect how effective the air conditioner is. When possible, try to allow airflow through the entire house by leaving doors open. You can angle the air vents to direct the air to certain areas of the house. Closing some vents close to the air conditioner will help the air reach parts of the house that are further away from the main unit. This will help the cool reach every part of the house effectively.
Use Heat-Producing Appliances Wisely
This is a simple tip that will make a big difference in your home’s comfort level. Hot appliances, like the stove, oven, and clothes dryer, should be avoided when possible. If you want to use them, do it at night, when the temperature is naturally cooler outside. Try line-drying clothes, if possible, to eliminate the dryer heat altogether.
Check for Leaks
If your home leaks, you may be leaking up to 60 percent of the cold air produced by your pair conditioner. This means your unit will have to use 60 percent additional energy to keep your home cool. Hire a HVAC professional to seal the leaks around your home and improve your cooling efficiency.
Keep Your AC Working Correctly
Piggybacking on the leak tip, if your HVAC equipment is not up-to-date and working properly, you are losing money. Each year, have a qualified professional come out and service your air conditioner to ensure it is operating at maximum efficiency. If it is older than 10 years, consider replacing it with a new, energy-efficient model.
Add Additional Insulation
The proper amount of insulation will help reduce your energy costs at any time of year. Many houses do not have as much insulation as recommended. Have someone inspect your insulation and add additional insulation, if needed.
These tips will help you lower your energy consumption during the summer, and consequently, save you money. If you are serious about lowering your energy bills in the summer, there are also a few other tips you can try, such as using your air conditioner a lot less during the day, when possible. Implementing all of these tips will help you reach your energy goals and significantly reduce your energy bills each month.
This is a guest post by Jonathan Mehlig for http://www.newyorkenergyrates.com/electric-companies/.Jonathan usually covers green, frugal living and sustainability topics.
1 Smart Readers SAID::
We do have central air in our house and also an air conditioning in our room but we have not use our central air. We just open the windows to let the fresh air comes in :-) My husband turn on the a/c in our room when he gets home from work and it is excruciating warm outside :-)
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