According to Energy.gov, nearly 50% of your energy bill comes from your cooling and heating system. What’s more, most people will see the biggest spike during the summer because they have their air conditioner running 24/7. While there are many ways to save money in the winter—such as adjusting your thermostat and using extra blankets at night, finding ways to save in the summer might appear to be much more difficult. After all, it’s much less enticing to turn your AC down at night when it’s too hot to handle! Plus, if your AC isn’t running, chances are you will probably turn on every fan in your home!
However, there is hope. You can still save money in the summer similar to that of how you do in the winter. Here are three things we suggest:
1. Reduce the amount of heat produced in your home by turning off lights when they are not needed.
It’s summer, the sun is always shining. Unless, of course, it is raining. Therefore,take advantage of the 15-20 hours of sunlight and use it to brighten up your home instead of turning on the lights. Also, lights generate heat and will cause your air conditioner to work harder if you leave them on when they are not needed. Therefore, always remember to turn out lights when you do not need them and try to use as much natural light as possible during the day.
Want natural light, but worried about the heat that may pass through the windows?
We know allowing natural light in your home via your windows is easier said than done. We also know that many windows allow heat to enter the home. One way you can prohibit this from happening is by having energy-efficient windows installed. A lot of high performance windows come with a coating that reduces solar heat gain but can still allow for daylight to enter.
2. Set your thermostat to a “warmer setting” while you are out.
This might be the hardest thing for many people to do. As an air conditioner repair company that serves Camden County, Burlington County, as well as many other areas of New Jersey, we have made many repairs to units simply because it was running all the time. Even worse, these units are set to cool the home to a low temperature while the family is out or on vacation. We know it is incredibly tempting to have your home hovering around 68-70 degrees in the summer, but we highly suggest adding ten degrees. We also realize that many people turn on their AC units when the temperature hits 78-80 degrees, but limiting that behavior has the potential to help you save 2-3% on your energy costs.
3. Do not neglect having your system checked!
This is perhaps the most ignored tip, but also one of the most important. As a company that has been in business for decades and has seen heating and cooling systems become increasingly energy-efficient, we always tell our customers that scheduling annual checkups and maintenance services will ensure that their unit is working efficiently and not sucking up an extra energy. We have also seen many homeowners neglect to have their unit checked for efficiency, have it fixed time and time again, and then find out later that a lot of money could have been saved just by having it checked on, or having a newer unit installed.
There are several ways that you can save money throughout the summer as well as the rest of the year (a part from what we mentioned above.) To see more tips on how to save throughout the year, please feel free to navigate over to this page of our website: https://www.hutchbiz.com/ways-to-save-money/.