Ross and Witmer The summer months are meant to be enjoyed, from backyard barbecues with friends to vacations with family. Help stretch your summer budget with our cooling season tips, designed to reduce both your energy costs and your carbon footprint.
Cooling Season Tips to Stretch Your Summer Budget
Cooling Season Tips to Stretch Your Summer Budget- Turn up the heat. Program your thermostat to 85 degrees during times you are sleeping or the house is empty, and 78 degrees when you’re home and awake. Use the cooling power of ceiling or floor fans to offset higher temperatures, but only run them in rooms that are occupied. They only cool people, not air!
- Conserve energy. Power down by turning off the light when you leave a room. Unplug small appliances and chargers when not in use, and turn off computers and other electronics at the power bar.
- Put your feet up after dinner. Save time, water and electricity by running a full load in your dishwasher, which uses less resources than washing by hand.
- Replace your aging AC. Frequent repairs, inadequate cooling and increasing energy bills are all signs your air conditioner is on the way out. Replace your equipment with a high-efficiency model with the Energy Star seal of approval.
- Schedule annual maintenance. Cooling equipment that has been cleaned and tuned will help save on repairs, run more efficiently, and use less energy than one that hasn’t.
- Change your filter. A dirty air filter forces your AC to work harder to cool your home, wasting energy.
- Fan yourself. Install a whole-house fan, a permanent attic installation designed to draw cool evening air in to your home, while expelling the stale, hot air from inside, helping reduce AC usage.
- Seal your ducts. Leaky ductwork lets conditioned air escape and contaminated air in. Seal ducts with a good quality duct mastic, not duct tape.
For more cooling season tips, contact the professionals at Ross & Witmer, providing quality service to homeowners in Charlotte and the surrounding areas since 1945.