Heating and air conditioning costs constitute a major portion of your electricity bill. You can cut costs significantly by following these easy tips.
5 Tips for Saving Money on Heating & Air Conditioning
Maintain Your System
Just like a car needs to be properly maintained for high efficiency, you should also keep your heating/air conditioning system well maintained for optimum performance.
With proper maintenance, your system will work economically and the chances of malfunction will be minimized. This means that your system will become dependable and work smoothly for years to come.
Get a High Quality Programmable Thermostat
It is a good idea to invest in a good quality programmable thermostat. This can be very beneficial if you are not home for a significant portion of the day. You can program the thermostat accordingly when you're not at home to keep your electricity bill down. Furthermore, you can also program it to return to the normal settings at a designated time so that the temperature in the house is at a comfortable level when you reach home. There are a wide range of programmable thermostats on the market. High performance ones usually require a professional to install and cost a fair bit, but if you do not mind a bit of DIY, you can find a quality thermostat for around $50 to $100 and install it yourself.
Check the SEER Number
You should check the SEER number (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio) of your A/C system. If your old A/C has a SEER number less than 8, you should definitely replace it with a more efficient A/C system. A good SEER number should be equal to or more than 13 and if you have a system with a SEER rating below 13, it means that it may be costing you more to run. Therefore, if you replace your current A/C of a low SEER rating with a higher one, the new system will pay off its cost in few years by the savings you will achieve.
Install Energy Efficient Fans
Ceiling fans can be a good investment if you want to lower your bills. Occasionally, the weather is not so hot and it doesn't really require an A/C. You can use a fan at such times for cooling purposes. Furthermore, if you run the fan with A/C, you can lower the temperature of the room by about 4 degrees! However, remember that you should only use the fan when you are in the room. A fan works by redirecting air towards you – this increases evaporation on your skin and makes you feel cooler. A fan running in an empty room is no good because it only redirects air and therefore is just circulating air in the room without any effect.
Seal Air Leaks
You can substantially reduce heating and air conditioning cost by sealing air leaks in your house. Filling these gaps will help you to retain the temperature of your room and thus your system has to exert less energy and thus consume less electricity.
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Allan is passionate about saving energy and lowering his carbon footprint.
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Image courtesy of digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
