When the hot summer weather hits, you’re likely turning down your thermostat. Unfortunately, with every degree that you drop your thermostat, the more expensive your energy bill will be. Fortunately, there are many great practices that you can implement to enhance the energy efficiency of your home during the warmer summer months.
Get a Smart Thermostat
One of the best steps that you can take to help make your home more energy-efficient during the summer months is to install a smart thermostat. This particular type of thermostat can be easily controlled via your smartphone anywhere that you have internet connectivity. What sets this thermostat apart from other programmable thermostats is that it will provide you with recommended settings based on your day-to-day usage. These settings will help you to alter your settings to be more energy efficient.
Have Professional System Maintenance
Apart from maintaining the warranty on your home air conditioning system, it’s important to get annual maintenance performed by a professional to ensure that your system is working efficiently. Over time, dirt and other debris can make their way into the internal components of your air conditioning system. This can cause them to work less efficiently and even make them more prone to breakdowns. Having a professional come in and maintain your air conditioner in the springtime will help to eliminate this debris and fix any malfunctioning parts before they create more damage to your system.
Consistently Replace the Air Filter
As a homeowner, it’s important that you understand where the air filter is on your HVAC system. Every system will have a particular model air filter that will need to be installed on a regular basis. It’s a good rule of thumb to pull your filter out and check it at least once a month to see if it needs to be replaced. Homes that have lots of pets, many residents, and are highly trafficked will need their filters changed more often than homes that are not.
Invest in Duct Cleaning
Unless you have a ductless air conditioning system, all the air that passes through your system goes into your ductwork. As air is sucked into your ductwork, it brings along with it airborne particles and debris like dust and pollen. These airborne particles can attach to the inside walls of your ducting and create a restriction in the airflow. To not only enhance the efficiency of your system but also increase the quality of your indoor air, it’s a good idea to invest in duct cleaning every three to five years.
Block Out the Sunlight
If you’ve ever sat in front of a window during a hot summer day, you know how warm direct sunlight can be. It’s important that you do your best to try and block out a lot of that direct sunlight throughout the daytime so that it’s not naturally heating up the air inside of your home. It may seem mind-blowing, but the direct sunlight can actually heat up a room inside of your home up to 10 degrees. That means that your air conditioner will have to work much harder to reduce the temperature in your home by 10 degrees. You should consider investing in curtains or blinds in rooms that receive direct sunlight throughout the daytime hours.
Seal Up Windows and Doors
The most common place that there’s going to be air leakage in your home will be by your windows and your doors. You should take a few minutes and feel around the frames of your windows and doors to see if you notice that it’s hotter in that area. If so, it’s likely that you have leaks that need to be sealed up. You can do this with weatherstripping or similar material.
Use Ceiling Fans Regularly
Ceiling fans are a great investment for homeowners who are looking to drastically reduce their energy bills during the summer months. While it does take energy to run ceiling fans, it’s much less than the energy utilized to power your air conditioning system. The way ceiling fans work to reduce energy usage by air conditioning system is by making your home feel much cooler than it actually is.
During the summertime, you want to have the fans spinning in a counterclockwise direction to force the air down onto you. Just having that breeze can help to lower your body temperature. This will allow you to keep your thermostat at a higher temperature setting, which means less run time for your air conditioning system. Consider installing fans in the most widely used rooms of your home like your bedrooms, kitchen, and living room.
Consider a Whole-Home Dehumidifier
If you live in a hot and humid environment, then you may want to invest in a whole-home dehumidifier. It’s crucial to realize that any air conditioning system is going to remove excess moisture from the air. However, when humidity levels are high, your air conditioning system may not be able to keep up with your dehumidification needs.
This is where a whole-home dehumidifier comes into play. It will help to reduce the amount of excess moisture in your home, which will, in turn, make your home feel more comfortable while you’re in it. It’s important to realize that when humidity levels are high, it’s very likely for the average homeowner to turn the thermostat down more than usual to try to reach a comfortable temperature. This, unfortunately, results in the overuse of your air conditioning system and an increase in your energy bills.
Take Up Grilling
One of the quickest ways to heat up your home is to run your stove or oven. This can make your home environment uncomfortable in the evening hours and cause you to turn your thermostat down even lower. One of the best ways to combat this heat is to simply cook outside. There are many different ways that you can cook outside, including grilling, which can eliminate the need for you to use your indoor stove or oven. The less you use your stove or oven, the less likely you are to turn down the temperature on your thermostat.
Use LED Bulbs
If you still have any incandescent light bulbs in your home, it’s time to get rid of them. These light bulbs heat up very quickly and can make your home feel much warmer. You want to replace these incandescent bulbs with new LED light bulbs. Not only do LED bulbs use less energy than incandescent bulbs, but they also don’t emit heat.
Insulate
Insulation is a necessary barrier between the inside of your home and the outdoors. The thicker your insulation is, the less likely the outdoor temperature is going to affect your indoor temperature. For this reason, it’s important that you invest in quality insulation that meets or exceeds the R-value recommendation in your area.
Professional AC Services
Fusion Plumbing & Air provides professional AC services for the whole Tucson, AZ, community. We’re also here for all of your plumbing, drain, sewer, heating, and commercial needs. Simply contact us today to get the help that you need with your home’s air conditioning system.
