Summer is here! Barbecues, trips to the lake, days at the pool and camping up north are all things many families look forward to for summer. What we don't relish are the higher electricity bills we have to pay, and running from air conditioned house, to air conditioned car, to air conditioned job and back again. So we did some research and came up with a few tips to help out this summer.
1.
Keep your air conditioning on all the time. It sounds counter-intuitive, but your a/c unit has to work much harder to cool a hot house than it does to keep it continually cool. However, you don't need to keep it at "comfort" level when you are not home to make a difference. Install a programmable thermostat so you can set it to raise or lower the temperature depending on where you will be. Even one or two degrees can make a huge difference in your bill. Don't forget to get your unit checked at the start of the season for leaks and inefficiencies which can also significantly reduce your cooling costs for the summer. There are also energy management companies that you can contact to setup monitoring of your system and adjust the loads appropriately based on your usage. Shop around and see what's out there!
2.
Don't use the oven. Your oven will heat up your house and thus use more power to cool it down. Use the grill, crock pot, toaster oven or microwave during the summer if you can. Put lids on pans to keep the heat in so you don't have to turn the heat up so high to cook things, and eat more fruits and raw veggies too - it's healthier for your body, your home and your wallet! You can even bake cookies in your car!
Take a look!
3.
Cover your windows. Buy blackout blinds or curtains, use white draperies which will reflect the sun's rays, plant trees or bushes near lower floor windows or
have sunscreens installed to keep the heat out. Many utility companies offer
rebate programs to install screens on your windows and they can save you hundreds of dollars a year, cutting cooling costs by about 25%.
4.
Turn down your water heater. In the summer you don't need piping hot water, so turn it down a few degrees. This can be done on the water heater itself and takes just a minute.
5.
Unplug appliances that are not in use. Anything that has a transformer (that little black box on the plug) on it typically uses electricity even when it's off. Phone chargers, small appliances, and even stereo equipment all make a difference. Surge protectors with an on/off switch make this easier to accomplish. Unplug them all and you'll notice it on your bill.
6.
Take short showers instead of baths. Taking a 5 minute shower uses about a third less water than a bath and will cool you down a lot faster.
7.
Turn off the drying function on the dishwasher. Let dishes air dry inside. It will be cooler in your kitchen and use less energy. Also be careful to only run a load when it's full and run it, and other appliances that get hot, at night when your a/c won't have to work as hard. You can also air-dry clothing instead of running the dryer which is not only an energy hog, but which also heats up the laundry room requiring more cooling too.
8.
Close the doors! Shutting the doors to rooms that are not in use will help keep cooler air in the rooms that you are actually in.
9.
Use fans. Adding a fan to your attic can cool your attic by nearly 30% which translates to big savings on your bill. Also, running fans in the bedrooms at night can help reduce the amount of air conditioning you will need while still keeping you cool while you sleep.
10.
Little changes add up to big savings. Seal up the house. Use caulk or weather stripping to seal places in your house that could be leaking that wonderful cold, expensive air. Replace light bulbs with energy efficient ones. Replace air filters every month so your unit doesn't have to work through all the dirt and dust that's been sucked up through the vents. Wash as many laundry loads as you can with cold water instead of hot. Turn off lights in rooms you are not in. You can even insulate light switches and outlets to prevent those little air leaks.
There are so many small, inexpensive and easy things you can do to reduce those big bills that we'd be fools not to share them with you! We hope you found this month's newsletter useful. Please let us know if you 'd like to see us cover anything else in the coming months!
And, if you need a quote or need more information about our products please give us a call at
1-800-361-7989 and we'll be glad to help you.
With Memorial Day behind us, summer has officially begun. That means triple digits for us and the melting of all the snow and ice for others. Here in Arizona, utility bills are a huge concern for many residents in the summer due to having to run the air conditioning day and night which soon racks up those kilowatts. This month we have some tips to help you reduce the bills and help keep some of that well earned money in your pocket.
