An air conditioner is a must-have appliance for those who live in regions punished by high summertime heat. Unfortunately, enjoying the luxury of a cool home often comes with an exorbitant price tag. If you would like to increase your knowledge of the ways in which a cooling bill can be lowered, read on. This article will discuss three effective strategies.
Eliminate air leaks.
It has been estimated that air leaks can result in air conditioning energy losses as great as 30 percent. This is true of both central air conditioners and window units. In both cases, an air leak will allow cool air to escape from your home--while also allowing hot air to penetrate into it. The result is an air conditioner that must work much harder than it should to keep you cool.
Locating an air leak may seem like an esoteric and somewhat daunting task. Yet many air leaks can be found using nothing more than a single stick of incense. Simply light the incense and then move it slowly around the walls of your home. Air leaks will be easy to notice, since they will agitate the stream of smoke rising up from the incense. Be sure to move your incense around such areas as duct connections and window frames.
Set your thermostat's timer.
Modern thermostats often come so packed with features that it is somewhat intimidating. After all, the only thing you really need is an on/off switch, right? While this attitude may be appealing, it will be sure to cost you more in the long run. Instead, consider learning to utilize some of the features of your thermostat--most importantly, the timer.
The timer will allow you to set exactly when your air conditioning system runs--and what its temperature settings are at various times of day. That means that you can program your system to shut down--or at least reduce its cooling efforts--during times of the day when nobody is at home. This will help to make a huge dent in your monthly cooling bills.
Have your ducts insulated.
Insulated ducts are another common cause of elevated cooling bills. The problem here is that the ducts that carry cold air to the rooms of your home often pass through heat-prone areas such as attics and crawl spaces. This heat ultimately raises the temperature of the air moving through the duct, reducing the cooling power of your AC. By having your ducts insulated, you will ensure that the air remains at an optimal temperature, thus lowering the amount of work your air conditioner is required to perform.
Share6 June 2017
Every summer, I agonized over energy bills that would shoot into the stratosphere as a result of my efforts to keep cool in the heat. Every time I turned the temperature down, my bills increased. This summer, I decided to take some of the control over my energy bill back. I installed reflective film on my windows that reduced the amount of light and heat coming into the house. I started serving more cold meals or asking my husband to barbecue outside, so that my air conditioner didn't have to compete with the hot stove, and I started doing laundry at night to reduce appliance heat in the house at peak times. I also had ceiling fans installed. So far, the difference in my bill has been tremendous. This blog is a way for me to explore other ways to reduce energy drain during the summer months.