Eight Ways to Cut Your Summer Cooling Costs

The long light and warm sunshine of summer make for some magical days, but eventually those same things will also make for some hot homes. If you’re running an air conditioner to keep cool, you’ll start to see increase in energy use and, consequently, an increase in how much you spend on your energy bill each month. The good news is that there are ways to minimize those increases.

It’s important to keep your air conditioner running at peak efficiency. Sometimes that means a minor adjustment or routine maintenance, and sometimes that can mean installing a more efficient system to better regulate temperature inside the home. Here are eight ways to cut your summer cooling costs in St. George, UT:

• Coils: First, check the coils on the outside of the air conditioner unit itself. If it’s just a little dirty after being used little in the winter months, simply spraying it with a garden hose will clean it right up. But if it’s clogged with mud or thoroughly soiled, you can get a commercial air conditioner cleaner from your local hardware store.
• Concrete: Check the concrete slab under your air conditioner. If it’s not level, the unit will have to work harder to cool down your house. If this is the case, pry it up with a board and add a little bit of gravel underneath until it’s sufficiently level.
• Clear away debris: Keep your air conditioner free of vegetation, including grass, shrubs and vines. In the summer months, be sure to check monthly to keep the plants at bay.
• Filters: Perhaps the easiest of these eight ways to cut your summer cooling costs in St. George, UT is to check the air filter. Filters should be replaced at least every other month to keep your air conditioner running well.
• Condensation lines: Another maintenance item to put on the list is cleaning condensation lines. The pipes that carry accumulated condensation away from the air conditioner can get clogged, and could cause a much bigger problem than just increased cooling costs (like backup into the unit itself). Make sure to check it every once in a while (when checking the air filter) to make sure it’s not blocked.
• Keep it clean: Keeping your fins clean isn’t just good advice for fish—it’s good for your air conditioner, too. Use a toothbrush or other soft, preferably small brush to gently wipe each fin—just be careful not to bend those thin strips of metal.
• Seal leaks: Sealing leaky ducts can make a big difference, with some estimates stating that an air conditioner may have to work 50 percent harder if just 20 percent of the conditioned air is leaking out of the ducts. Keep an eye out for holes, disconnected joints and separated pieces of ductwork and seal them with the proper tape.
• New thermostat: Finally, you can save a bunch by using a programmable thermostat to regulate the temperature in your home. This way the air conditioner will automatically turn on when it gets past your desired temperature inside—and, most importantly, turn off when the home cools back down.

Need a new air conditioner or routine maintenance? Curious about more ways to cut your summer cooling costs in St. George, UT? Call Calaway Heating & Air Conditioning today.

Categorised in: Air Conditioning

This post was written by Writer