Summer in Greenville, SC, brings high temperatures and higher energy bills. Your air conditioner is the largest power user in your home when it’s on, so minimizing the amount of time it’s running is key to saving energy and money this summer. Here are three ways to make your home more energy-efficient.
Turn Up Your Thermostat
The higher your temperature setting, the less your air conditioner will have to work to keep your home at that temperature. Experts at the U.S. Department of Energy say that keeping your thermostat at 78 degrees strikes the right balance between comfort and savings.
If you find that temperature to be uncomfortably warm, add a fan to the rooms that you spend the most time in. A fan can make a room feel up to four degrees cooler than the thermostat reading.
Consider a Smart Thermostat
It doesn’t make sense to keep your house cool when nobody is around, but it can be hard to remember to turn your thermostat up whenever you leave. Coming home to a house warmer than 80 degrees can be unpleasant.
A smart thermostat can fix both those problems and save you up to 10% on your cooling costs. You can program it to automatically turn the temperature up when you leave for work and turn the temperature down shortly before you return home. If you’re on a different schedule than usual, many smart thermostats allow you to control them remotely with an app on your smartphone.
Keep Your Air Conditioner Maintained
A dirty, unmaintained air conditioner uses more energy than a clean, lubricated one. Your air conditioner should be professionally serviced annually to keep it running efficiently. In addition to saving energy, this will extend the life of your air conditioner and prevent costly and inconvenient breakdowns.
If you want to invest in a smart thermostat, or if your air conditioner needs maintenance, call us at Preferred Choice Heating and Air. We can tell you which smart thermostat is right for you and help you keep your system running smoothly.
Image provided by iStock
