3 Ways To Save Money On Cooling Your Home This Summer
When it comes to surviving summer, the priority is keeping the home cool and staying out of the sun in the season where it’s the hottest and most dangerous to our health. For most adults, keeping our temperatures regulated during the hottest months of the year isn’t too much of a challenge (although it can really feel like it on those 40C days!) if you have children or elderly people in your home, you need to place an even higher priority on keeping your home cool to prevent heat exhaustion. Having air conditioning is one of the best ways to achieve this, however the cost can often turn some people off. So what are the secrets to staying cool in summer and saving money? Take a look in this post.
Get The Latest Cooling Systems
Air conditioning is really the gold standard for keeping cool in the really hot summer months, and if you live in an area where temperatures really hit the roof in summer, you may consider air conditioning a must have. But how to save money on this often expensive and energy guzzling appliance? The key is having an up to date model that is serviced regularly to ensure no energy is wasted in its operation, the filters are clean and you have a model that is of the highest energy efficiency rating available. To save money on this check out air conditioning sales ahead of time before the rush season in the summer holidays. Try to take care of purchasing air conditioning and getting them serviced in the winter months when you can take advantage of special offers or deals.
New air conditioner models or systems may help to cool your home more effectively and efficiently, so think about replacing your system if yours is very old. The money you could save on electricity could quickly make the investment in a new system worthwhile. Blocked and dirty air filters in the air conditioner also make it harder for air to pass through the air conditioner and require more energy to be used, so keeping your system clean and serviced saves you money, and the potential cost of a more major repair further down the track.
Seal The ‘Leaks’
Just as water can leak out of an unsealed bottle, cool air can leak out of an unsealed house, which results in the air conditioner having to work harder to keep the room cool and you losing more money in energy as it does so. Keeping all windows and doors shut when your air conditioner is operating is of great importance in order to prevent loss of cooled air. Using a simple caulk gun can help to seal other cracks and leaks that let cool air out, and therefore reduce the efficiency of your air conditioner.
Keeping the shades drawn in the daytime also helps to preserve the cool environment inside the house, as sunlight pouring in through the windows can heat up the air inside and reduce the efficiency of your air conditioner. Research has shown that closing the blinds in summer can help reduce heat gain by up to 45% – a very significant amount which by reducing you can save money!
Use Fans As Well
While a fan alone may not do enough to cool your house, using them in conjunction with air conditioners can help you to have the air conditioner set at a higher temperature setting while still having it feel cooler inside. In fact, using the fan along with the air conditioner can help the environment in your home feel 2-3 degrees cooler – quite significant in summer!
Given that running a fan can use up to 50 times less energy as an air conditioner, balancing the cooling of your home between fans and the air conditioner can really help to reduce the energy cost of cooling your home in summer to a significant degree.