We’ve just come out of a scorching heatwave, and with summer now here in Southern California, it won’t be the last. A good air conditioner is your best friend during these hot summer months, and you’ll likely need to run yours every day in order to keep your home cool and comfortable. Doing otherwise may constitute an actual health risk when the temperatures spike to 100 degrees and above.
Naturally, that entails higher energy bills during the summer months, since you’re running your air conditioner far more often than you did in the winter or spring. However, that can sometimes hide the fact that you’re paying more than you should. There are ways to cut down on the costs of running an air conditioner this summer without skimping on the cool, comfortable air your home needs to be happy and healthy.
Basic Steps
You can do a number of things to help cut down on the cost of air conditioning without making any major changes to your existing system. Indeed, you might be taking some of these steps already to keep those bills from eating you alive. They include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Set the thermostat a few degrees warmer than you normally would: say, 78 degrees instead of 75 degrees. The home will still feel cool and your air conditioner won’t have to work so hard.
- Don’t run the air conditioner when no one is home. Instead, program your thermostat to turn on 10-15 minutes before the first member of your household is expected home.
- Open up the house after the sun goes down, turn off the air conditioner, and run the fan instead.
- Wear lightweight clothes inside and hydrate often: especially light drinks like water, fruit juice and iced tea.
Upgrades
If you want to take further steps to cut down on your air conditioning bills this summer, a trained technician might be able to help. A number of additions and upgrades can be made to your existing air conditioner to improve its performance, especially during the summer. Some options include:
- Smart Thermostats. Older digital thermostats are fine, but they don’t always take advantage of some of the advancements in technology. Newer “smart” thermostats can help cut into your bottom line by making adjustments based on your cooling habits and local conditions. Others allow you to control your air conditioner from anywhere in the world with an app on your phone.
- Zone Control Systems. Zone controls are essentially a series of controllable shutters that divide your home into sections. They allow you to set different temperatures in different parts of the house, or even turn off the air in unoccupied rooms while still running the system in parts of the home you are using.
- Maintenance. A maintenance session is a kind of tune-up, designed to fix little issues like loose bolts and cogged filters, as well as checking for larger issues that might merit a repair call. Doing so on a regular basis will improve your system’s efficiency: lowering those monthly bills as well as reducing the chances of a more serious breakdown.
For quality air conditioning repairs and upgrades in Whittier, CA, call the friendly pros at Greenleaf Heating & Cooling today!