Like most things in life, saving money on air-conditioning bills is most likely if you have a plan.
Plan a strategy for keeping your home cool this summer without breaking the bank. Here are six tips:
- Get a qualified service technician to your house to give a once-over to your central air-conditioning system and any window units you might have. Like any appliance, a well-tuned air conditioner will operate in the most energy-efficient way.
- Set your thermostat to 78 F while you’re home, and higher before you leave the house for the day. If you usually leave it at 72 F, you could save up to 18% on your cooling bill. If you have a programmable thermostat, it will set itself.
- Turn ceiling fans on when you enter a room and off when you leave. A ceiling fan doesn’t cool a room; it moves the air around so anyone in the room will feel cooler. So, there’s no benefit to running a fan when nobody is around.
- Notice the outdoor temperature every evening. If it’s cool enough, turn the a/c off and open the windows before bedtime.
- Close your drapes or blinds when it’s sunny outside to block the heat but leave them open on cloudy days to get some natural daylight into your rooms.
- Avoid cooking in your kitchen on hot summer days. Instead, grill outdoors, serve cold dishes, order take-out or heat food up in the microwave oven.
