Save on Electric Costs and Help Your Air Conditioner

Summer is here for most of us. We are already running the air conditioner and we are trying to keep our electric bill down. The best way to keep the electric bill down is with an energy plan. Most electric companies offer ways to save especially during the summer months. Here are a few suggestions if your electric company doesn’t offer any energy saving tips or even special discounts.

The biggest reason for the increase in your monthly bill in the summer is the amount of electricity that is being used. The electricity is usually sucked in by the air conditioner. A lot of people don’t know raising the air conditioner a few degrees while you are gone for long stretches of time will save electric and then on the other hand if you raise the air conditioner more than five to seven degrees you will actually use more electric when you get back home. Remember that your air conditioner works the hardest to cool the house not to sustain that temperature.

For example I set my air conditioner at 75 degrees during the day while we are home (I love it cold) and then at night I lower the air to 73 degrees. I also use ceiling fans continuously. This makes the rooms feel even cooler. The point is if you like your house at 75 degrees while you are home and you have a programmable thermostat set the temperature at 80-82 degrees while you are at work, which is 8+ hours that you are away from your house and have it turn on an hour before you get home. The house will be cool when you arrive and you saved on electric while you were gone. Most importantly if you have ceiling fans use them.

Maintenance is the key to your air conditioner’s vitality. Most people know to change the indoor filter every month in your wall or ceiling. What most people don’t know, and I never even knew it existed, the air handler or the inside unit has a built in filter as well. What the purpose of this two filter system is I found out was to filter the air and let me tell you it really works. I guess they both do their jobs. I actually cleaned my filter on the mechanical unit and my house feels so much colder. The air actually BLOWS now. The air temperature was always cold but the air pressure itself was weak. Now the air conditioner is functioning properly. My electric bill went from $220 down to $150. Knock on wood, the only thing wrong was the fact it needed a good cleaning.

Making sure your unit is the right size for your house is really important. If the unit is too big then you waste electricity. If it’s too small the same end result and your house is never cool.

Energy saving tips is to turn what you don’t use off. During the day when the sun is bright keep the lights off and the window shades open. Just remember if your windows aren’t energy efficient it would be best to leave them closed and turn your lights on. If you shut things off try to keep them off for long periods of time. It takes more energy to turn the item on than it does to keep it running.

Call your electric company and see if they offer energy saving tips or energy saving plans. If you turn your electric off according to their plan you may save even more money. With the rising costs of everything else maybe you can find enough ways to save money that you won’t even notice the bad economy. At least we can hope.

I would like to apologize for this sitting so long. It hadn’t been published since June 2, 2008 so I decided to publish it now.