Monday, March 23, 2015

Five Tips To Conserve Money On Your Utility Costs This Summer Season

By Pete Demuth


Five years ago, I got laid off. It was the peak of the economic downturn, and many people were in the very same boat. Although being out of work was terrible, one of the biggest shocks that I got appeared in the form of the electrical energy bills that we got during the summer season. I didn't realize just how much a/c cost. Plus, I was home all the time so I had the system running more than when I went to work. We simply didn't have enough cash to handle such enormous expenses for the entire summer. So I developed a plan to lower my household's utility costs while I was out of work. Here are the steps that we took.

Pointer # 1: Don't let the cold air escape. Ensure that your windows are shut securely. This will reduce the quantity of cool air that is lost. Also, make certain that your garage door is closed. In lots of houses, the garage can seem like an oven throughout scorching summer days. This can require the a/c unit to work more than it has to. Carry out an energy audit this spring season to make sure that your windows seal entirely. Likewise, get in the habit of closing up your garage door in order to keep it cool.

Step # 2: I did an audit on the ac system's thermostat. I notice that we had a few lamps incredibly near the thermostat. I wondered if this was causing the thermostat to yield an incorrect reading about how hot the space was. I moved the lamps to another part of the room to make sure that the thermostat was getting an exact temperature level.

Suggestion # 3: Invest in a low-cost programmable thermostat. This will certainly permit you to figure out how cool you want your home to be and set the thermostat to turn off when it hits that temperature level. In addition, programmable thermostats let you set a time for when you want the air conditioning system to turn on. For example, you might set your air conditioning unit to start 30 minutes before you return home from work. This is an excellent way to conserve cash because you will not have to run the system all the time when people are not in your house.

Step # 4: Because I was home for so many months, I had time to work in the yard. I discovered that the outdoor compressor system for our air conditioner sat in the blasting sun all the time. It seemed to me that it might be a good idea to provide some shade for the device. I planted some shrubs around the outdoor device to give it some shade. I had read somewhere that this could really help the unit run far more efficiently.

Suggestion # 5: Do an annual assessment of your air conditioning unit. Identify a trusted and reputable A/C professional to examine your system. While central air conditioning conditioners are designed to last for a long time, they will certainly not last forever. If your device is particularly inefficient, it might be costing you a lot of cash in wasted electrical energy. Nowadays, there are numerous energy-efficient air conditioning systems on sale. Look for one that has an Energy Star rating because these are the most effective devices. You may also think about switching over to a split air conditioner. These are the most effective devices available today.




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