subject: Six Tips to Cool Your Home For Less [print this page] Six Tips to Cool Your Home For Less Six Tips to Cool Your Home For Less
They say that March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb, which has proven itself true this year, as April is upon us. Warmer temperatures are taking the country by storm and the dreaded first air conditioned day of the year is quickly approaching. There is no doubt that comfort has its prices, and increasing energy costs add up. Here are some tips from theair conditioning experts atAir System Services, on how to save money on your AC bill this summer.
74 Degrees
74 degrees is the magic number between cool and warm. When transitioning from heating to ac, maintaining a 74 degree home will help adjust quickly and keep energy costs to a minimum. This is known as the "ideal" temperature for bothheating and cooling.
Listen Closely
Listen to your air conditioner.AC units are designed to cycle off when it reaches the desired and programmed temperature. Although the unit may appear to always be on, this is usually just the fan running, but paying attention to the AC cycle can help control costs. Typically, the acu unit should only run about 30% of the time, or about 20 minutes of every hour, and this pattern of cycling off helps save a lot of money on cooling bills. To get a better idea of whether or not your unit is cycling off, listen to the compressor in the outdoor unit.
Cool Off at Night
When running your ac system over night, set the temp a few degrees higher in cooling mode. Your body temperature lowers at night, and less movement requires less cooling.
Understand Your AC
Understand how yourAC unit functions. Basically, the ac unit is either on, or off. During cooling, the lower the temperature, the longer the ac unit stays on. The most common misconception is that the lower you set the temperature, the faster the home will cool off, but this is not the case. The unit will cool the home at the same speed whether it is set to 74 degrees or 65 degrees.
Moderation
This one is common sense, but set the temperature of your home to the most moderate temperature you can handle for the season. In the summer, the warmer the temperature, the more money you will save and it goes the opposite in the winter. Adjust the temperature in small increments until you first reach a comfortable level, and you will save a lot of money every month.
These tips will help you save a significant amount on your power bills. This will help you lower your monthly expenses as well as extending the lifespan of your air conditioner. Check out theHVAC blog at Airsystemservices.com/blog for moremoney saving tips.
