Tired of
High Light Bills?
9 easy tips to
save on your cooling costs this summer
1. Seal your
ductwork. The unsealed ducts in your
attics and crawl spaces lose air—uninsulated ducts lose heat,
wasting energy and money. Sealing your ducts to prevent leaks is
even more important if the ducts are located in an unconditioned
area such as an attic or vented crawl space. If the supply ducts
are leaking, heated or cooled air can be forced out unsealed joints
and lost. In addition, unconditioned air can also be drawn into
return ducts through unsealed joints. In the summer, hot attic air
can be drawn in, increasing the load on the air conditioner. In the
winter, your furnace will have to work longer to keep your house
comfortable. Either way, your energy losses cost you money.
Although minor duct repairs are easy to accomplish, ducts in
unconditioned spaces should be sealed and insulated by qualified
professionals using the appropriate sealing materials.
2. Invest in a
programmable thermostat. You can save as much as
10% a year on your heating and cooling bills by simply turning your
thermostat back 10% to 15% for 8 hours. You can do this
automatically without sacrificing comfort by installing an
automatic setback or programmable thermostat. Using a programmable
thermostat, you can adjust the times you turn on the heating or
air-conditioning according to a pre-set schedule. As a result, you
don't operate the equipment as much when you are asleep or when the
house or part of the house is not occupied. Ask
about our worry-free touch screen thermostats.
3. Have your indoor and
outdoor coils professionally inspected and cleaned. Fast
fact: for every
1/100th inch of dirt on your coil,
the efficiency of that coil drops by 5%!
Basically, if you can see it, you're losing
money. The indoor coil in your air conditioner
acts as a magnet for dust because it is constantly wetted during
the cooling season. Dirt buildup on the indoor coil is the single
most common cause of poor efficiency. The outdoor coil must also be
checked periodically for dirt buildup and cleaned if
necessary. This can potentially save you up to
$30 (or more) per month on your utility bill.
4. Change your air
filters every month. This will help maximize
efficiency of the equipment as well as improve the quality of the
air you and your family breathe. Take our
advice: use the 1” pleated filters instead of
the cheap mesh-like filters you find in the grocery
store.
5. Avoid using large
appliances during the middle of the day – You may not realize it,
but major appliances – even light bulbs – act as little heaters in
your home. During peak cooling hours, even small
heat sources can have a huge impact on the operation of your A/C
system. Try using dishwashers, washing machines,
and clothes dryers during the cooler hours of the
evening.
6. Get your A/C system
inspected before it gets hot – Invite a certified,
licensed technician to perform a seasonal A/C inspection of your
system in the Spring. Often, small problems can
be pinpointed and remedied before they lead to large, more
expensive repairs. Make sure you contact a
reputable company that is listed with the BBB (go to www.bbbhou.org) to ensure that you are
treated honestly.
7. Shade east and
west-facing windows. These are the windows that
get the most exposure to the sun, and are a major source of heat
infiltration into your home.
8. Keep your house
closed during the day. Leaving windows or doors
open even at night time can lead to high humidity levels in your
home and extra strain on your A/C system. Your
home can feel 4 to 5 degrees cooler, and you can add several years
life to your system by keeping the humidity level
down
9. Close off unused
rooms. By closing the vents in
unused rooms, you direct cool air to the areas of the home that
need it most. You essentially increase the
cooling capacity of your air conditioner, and save precious dollars
on your light bill.
Other common problems left
unnoticed by homeowners include crushed or improperly installed
ductwork. Units that do not drain and are not
pitched properly allowing unwanted humidity to be re-introduced
into the home. Improperly installed metering devices. Kinked or
restricted linesets. Improperly installed components such as 2
liquid line driers, the wrong RPM fan motor etc.. Or possibly even
the wrong components such as the wrong size run capacitor,
compressor, coil, etc.
