As the summer months come into full swing and the mercury rises, the heat can be unbearable. Don’t let yourself get caught out with a huge electricity bill come autumn.  You can take proactive measures to keep your cooling bill reasonable, so you don’t get any nasty surprises. Whether you live on the southeast coast of Florida, or the midwest,  take a look at our tips to ensure you won’t get a nasty energy bill surprises.

 

 

Run Your AC Efficiently.

If you can manage by putting your AC up a couple of degrees, it is worth doing it. Using a programmable thermostat to increase the temperature when you’re out of town, can also decrease your summer cooling bill significantly. Even, small adjustments such as setting your AC’s thermostat to 78ºF instead of 72ºF could reduce your energy bill by as much as 18%!

 

 

Maintain Your HVAC

If you don’t change the oil in your car, it doesn’t run as efficiently as it should. If you never have your vehicle serviced, it’s likely to break down and stop working altogether. An air conditioning unit is no different. If you don’t correctly care for it, with regular services and cleaning, not only will it become inefficient, it could also stop working. Even something as small as not changing your dirty AC filters can block airflow and make units work harder. Replacing your filters once per month can lower your AC units energy consumption by up to 15%!

 

 

 

 

Keep Outside Doors Closed

This seems like it’s obvious, but a lot of people still do this and wonder why their electricity bill is so high. If you have windows and doors open while you’re running the AC, you are hindering your AC units ability to cool your home. By allowing warm air from outside to come inside, your HVAC unit has to work much harder to keep your home cool. This can lead to the premature breakdown of your system.

 

 

Close Your Blinds

Keeping your curtains drawn can save significant money on utility bills in summer. The heat from the sun can warm up a home very quickly. By adopting the use of curtains and drapes that block sunlight from entering your home, you can reduce heat gain by as much as 45%. Using light-colored treatments also help to deflect the sun’s rays. There are also blinds which are reflective and help to conserve energy by blocking the sun’s rays from entering the window.

 

 

Use A Fan

Utilizing a couple of free-standing fans to help your air conditioning unit along can be a frugal way to save on your electricity bills. By using them to circulate the cold air more efficiently, you can allow your AC unit a break. And because fans use less energy than an air conditioning unit, they are a cheap way of ensuring even if the weather hots up, you don’t have to.