The return of April signals the beginning of air conditioning season, or as homeowners like to call it, the season of higher expenses. If your home has central air, your air conditioner is probably the biggest consumer of electricity, even more than your furnace in the winter. This also means it tends to be the most expensive piece of machinery in your home.
And if you make some of the most common mistakes homeowners make, it’s costing you even more! Home Comfort Experts wants to keep you comfortable when it comes to your home, and your wallet this season. So, we’ve compiled a list of the most common air conditioning mistakes homeowners make and how you can fix them.
Turning Off Your Air Conditioner When You’re Not Home
This is one of the most expensive mistakes you can make. Turning your air conditioner off during the day when you’re gone for eight or more hours might theoretically sound like a good idea, but it’s not. It’s going to cost you when you get back home and turn that thermostat back on. It takes a large amount of energy for your air conditioner to start pushing out cold air again.
A better option is to adjust your thermostat by turning it up 7-10 degrees when you’re away. Adjusting your thermostat instead of turning it off and on every day can save you up to 10% on your annual heating and cooling bills.
Cranking Your Air Conditioner to Cool Your Home Quickly
Do not try and crank the air conditioner in hopes that it will cool your home quicker. It won’t work. It will only make your system work harder, which will leave you with a dry wallet and a frigid home. To save money and feel more comfortable, try turning on your ceiling fans. It will help distribute the cool air throughout your home. Read this blog post to save more money, 5 Tips to Keeping cool without Cranking the Air Conditioning.
Cool Money Saving Tips
If all else fails, here are a few other tips to keep cool on a budget:
Get an A/C tune-up at least once a year. A tune-up can keep your system working more efficiently, resulting in savings. Your air conditioner can lose up to 5% efficiency every year it forgoes a tune-up.
Adjust your ceiling fans so they spin counter clockwise. This allows for a downdraft of cool air and can make a room feel up to eight degrees cooler.
Keep the thermostat between 75 and 78 degrees. Every degree you raise your thermostat in the summer can result in a 5% savings on the cost of cooling your home.
Keep any appliance that radiates heat (like lamps and televisions) away from the thermostat. The heat radiating from them can cause the thermostat to misread the room temperature.
Make sure furniture isn’t blocking air vents. It will enable cool air to circulate more freely.
Clean your air filters. Dirty filters restrict airflow making your system work harder to cool your home.
In need of air conditioning repair or service? Go to our website at www.homecomfortexpertsinc.com, and fill out our Request service form on the right-hand side of the screen.