The dog days of summer are rapidly approaching–can you believe it’s July already? Our AC units are some of our best friends during these months of mid-summer and the upcoming hottest months of the year – but unfortunately they can be  quite expensive to run. If you’re concerned about your electric bill or guilty about your carbon footprint, don’t lose hope; there are many ways to address saving energy.
saving energy

Eco-Friendly Ways of Saving Energy

  1. Have routine maintenance performed on your unit. Even worse than a constantly-running AC unit is one that is ineffective despite running constantly. Have a professional perform annual maintenance on your AC unit to ensure that all parts are clean, functional, and working efficiently to keep your house cool without wasting extra money or energy. Be sure to regularly change your air filters as well, since a clogged filter makes it more difficult for your unit to draw out hot air and cool it. If your unit is older than 10-15 years, consider replacing it with a newer high-efficiency model.
  2. Check your insulation. Poor attic insulation allows air to escape quickly, as do worn-down seals and insulation pads on doors and windows. Make sure your home’s insulation is sufficient to keep a stable temperature inside.
  3. Curtains and shades are your friends. In rooms you don’t use often, install thick curtains over the windows. These will keep sunlight from heating the room. In high-use rooms, thin white shades will help block direct rays of sun that heat the area while still letting in a good amount of natural light to illuminate the room.
  4. Put your landscaping to use. The sun is hottest when shining on east and west windows, since these are constantly in the sun’s path throughout the day. Plant trees there to shade the windows and cool these sides of your house.
  5. Reflective window film can be a big help. Stick-on reflective film redirects the sun’s rays so that less direct light enters and heats your home. They also provide some privacy even when your shades aren’t drawn, since they act more like a mirror than a window from the outside.
  6. Use alternative cooling appliances. Ceiling fans can make a room seem many degrees cooler just by moving the air. Set your fans to counter-clockwise during the summer to help cool the room. Swamp coolers are also much more efficient and cheaper to run than AC units, and many models are portable.
  7. Avoid cooking hot meals. A lot of additional heat is produced in our kitchens, from ovens to stoves to dishwashing machines. You can spare your AC unit a lot of extra work by choosing to prepare meals that don’t require extensive use of the oven or stove on the hottest days of the summer.
  8. Be flexible in your thermostat settings. Set your thermostat to a higher temperature during hours when you are not usually home so that your AC gets a break for a few hours. Additionally, increasing your thermostat settings by just one or two degrees (for example, setting it at 76 instead of 74 or 75) can save you a good chunk of change over time without making much of a difference in your comfort level.

Promise Electric is one of the Sarasota area’s most trusted residential and commercial electrical services companies. Call today for an electrical inspection and assessment so that your home can be as efficient as possible during the summer months.