The first day of summer has yet to arrive but you would think summer was already here with how hot it is getting. With high temperatures slamming our area each day, it is a great feeling to be able to retreat into an effectively cooled home when the heat gets to be too much. But effectiveness is only one factor to consider for your air conditioner. You also want a home that is kept cool in an efficient manner.
Effectiveness without efficiency can get the job done but at a much higher price. It is always a good idea to double-check that you are using your HVAC system in Newcastle, WY in the most efficient way possible and we can help you do that. Read on to learn about some best practices you can adopt and some services you may want to take advantage of this season to keep your home cool without a big price tag.
5 Ways to Improve Your AC Efficiency
If you haven’t considered these best practices before now, make sure to start adopting them into your regular daily or yearly activities to boost your efficiency and, by default, your comfort too.
1. Use your fans to feel cooler
To be clear, fans don’t lower the temperature of your home. But using your home’s fan, whether a ceiling fan or a portable one, can help you feel cooler. This is because it helps to increase the evaporation of your sweat, which is your body’s natural cooling process, which can help you feel more comfortable more easily. When you feel cooler, you can also increase the temperature on your thermostat a bit too which will help you reduce your energy use overall.
2. Raise the temperature on the thermostat
We touched on this idea above but we do want to dive more into the idea of increasing the temperature on your thermostat. While it feels counterintuitive, it can be a good idea to do this. For one thing, your AC is limited to lowering the home temperature by only 20° below the outside temperature. For another, the lower your indoor temperature, the faster heat will try to get into your home and the more energy your AC has to use. Raising the temperature to around 78° can actually keep you comfortable without costing you an exorbitant amount of money for added electricity use.
3. Keep the sunlight, and the heat, out!
We all love a brightly-lit room. However, if there is direct sunlight entering a room it will raise the temperature quite a bit. Try to keep your blinds or curtains in rooms that receive direct sunlight closed. The room will be darker but they will also be far cooler, making it easier for your AC to keep things indoors comfortable.
4. Find and address air leaks quickly
If there are gaps or air leaks around your doors or windows, it is best to address them with caulk or weather stripping as soon as you can. The warm, dirty air that enters your home will add up and increase the amount of work your AC has to do and the amount of energy that it uses.
5. Check and change the system filter regularly
Make sure to check and change your system filter every one to three months. This keeps airflow into your system strong and keeps the stress on your AC to a minimum, allowing it to keep its energy use to a minimum too!
Adopting all of these best practices will help you get better performance and efficiency from your air conditioner throughout the summer. Along with these habits, don’t forget to schedule a tune-up too in order to prevent up to 5% of efficiency loss each year. Our team is here to provide maintenance and other services whenever you need them!
Contact Climate Solutions, Inc. to get the services you need to keep your home cool. The trusted source for all your heating and cooling needs.