The Ultimate Guide to Lowering Your Air Conditioning Bills: Part 1
Summer is finally here in Southern California. And with it comes high energy bills as you strive to stay cool. If you want to lower your air conditioning bills, this post is for you.
To prove our point, we’re giving you our ultimate guide to lowering your air conditioning bills–it’s filled with all the energy efficiency tips and resources you will ever need to keep money in your wallet during the summer.
But to make sure the guide isn’t too overwhelming (we know you’re busy) we’re splitting it up into three partrs.
Part one’s focus: simple, easy tasks you can do around your home to make your home more energy efficient
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Air seal your home
Here’s a simple way to start saving money: Reduce the amount of air that leaks in and out of your home.
All that cool air your air conditioner is creating needs to stay in your home, and all that hot air outside needs to stay outside where it belongs.
You can do this in 3 easy steps:
- Make a list of where air can possibly leak in and out of your home. Here’s a map of air sealing trouble spots from Energy.gov.
- Test each spot to see if you have an air leak. You can do this on a budget with a candle.
- Seal each trouble area with the appropriate materials:
- Weatherstripping– Used to seal movable building components, such as doors or operable windows
- Caulk– Used to seal cracks, gaps or joints less than 1-quarter-inch wide between stationary building components and materials
Use your ceiling fans
Your ceiling fan effectively circulates the air in a room to create a windchill effect throughout the room.
This means you’ll feel cooler without the room actually being cooler. As a result, you can raise your thermostat 4°F without feeling uncomfortable, cutting your cooling costs.
Just make sure that your fan is rotating the right way. Learn more on our article about how to slash your energy bills with your fan.
Install a programmable thermostat (and save $180 a year)
Honestly, if you used your thermostat responsibly, you could save a lot of money, whether you have a regular thermostat or programmable thermostat.
However, you’re busy and don’t have time to micromanage your thermostat.
Programmable thermostats takes all the effort out of it so you can set it and forget it – automatically saving you money.
Here’s a typical schedule you could set and forget during the summer:
- Wake at 6:00 a.m. – temperature is set at or above 78° F.
- Leave for work at 8:00 a.m. – temperature automatically increases 7° F.
- Come home from work at 6:00 p.m. – temperature returns to or above 78° F.
- Go to sleep at 10:00 p.m. – temperature raises at least 4° F.
Learn more about programmable thermostats.
Become a money-saving superhero
Now that you know why to
- air seal your home
- use your ceiling fan and
- use a programmable thermostat
you’re well on your way to becoming a money-saving superhero this summer.
Keep an eye out for part 2 of the ultimate guide to lowering your air conditioning bills: Getting your ducts in a row.
Don’t want to wait? Contact a Service Champions air conditioning professional to find out how you can cut the energy bills in your Southern California home.