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Blog | 4 Tips for Bringing Your Cooling Costs Down

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We have not met a single person who is not grateful for the use of a fully functional and efficient air conditioner during the summer season. They make everyday home life not only bearable, but quite comfortable. But what if your Air conditioning is not working as effectively as you expect it to? Do you need ac repair or ac installation?

The solution to this will depend on the problem. For instance, if you are not getting cool air no matter how low you set the thermostat, there is clearly something wrong with the system. But in many cases, homeowners look at their high cooling costs and will assume something is wrong, when it is probably just that they aren’t using their air conditioner as efficiently as possible. So, what can you do? Here’s 4 Easy Tips that can decrease your cooling costs while increasing your air conditioning efficiency.

Tip #1: Raise the Temperature
Okay, okay. We know, this sounds like very counterintuitive advice. But we are not expecting you to make your home hotter than comfortable. But you may be turning your thermostat settings down much lower than they need to be, and therefore using your system inefficiently.
Some people will set their thermostats as low as 65°F when really the average person is comfortable at 72°F. Even raising the thermostat by just a few degrees can help your air conditioner function more efficiently and subsequently bring your cooling costs down. If you cannot bear turning up your thermostat, at least consider doing so when nobody is home and/or when you are sleeping. A programmable or learning thermostat can help to automatically adjust temperatures. They allow you to set the timeframes, and temperatures for your air conditioning system to be most efficient in cooling your home.

Tip #2: Utilize Your Ceiling Fans
True, on their own, ceiling fans cannot keep you cool. After all, a fan does not lower the temperature of the room that it is in, but it can make you feel cooler, since it helps sweat evaporate from your body—this is your body’s natural way of keeping cool. On a mild day, a ceiling fan can be sufficient to keep you cool, but the real benefit comes from pairing your ceiling fans with your air conditioner.
Ceiling fans help push cool air down and keep warm air rising as you use your air conditioner. Pairing your ceiling fan with the central air conditioner unit may allow you to run the air conditioner at a higher temperature, which subsequently keeps your bills lower than they would otherwise be.

Tip #3: Change the Air Filter Regularly
The air filter that comes standard with your cooling (and heating) system gets filled with dust and debris during normal usage. This makes it hard for air to circulate throughout the home and makes it harder for your air conditioner to efficiently do its job. Your HVAC system can malfunction or freeze as a result. Be sure to change this air filter every 1-3 months to help your air conditioner work properly and continuously filter debris, dust, bacteria, and other air borne pathogens in your home. This may also cut down on future ac repair jobs.

Tip #4: Keep the System Clean
The outdoor coil of your air conditioning system is one spot where excessive dirt and buildup can create problems for the HVAC system’s overall operation. This coil is supposed to enable the exchange of heat from your inside air to the outdoors, but dirt and debris can interfere.
With a dirty coil, your AC performance will drop noticeably, and overall efficiency will suffer. Therefore, you should be sure to schedule routine air conditioning maintenance before the temperatures outside get too high.

Don’t wait till its too late !
Call Spiker Heating & Air to schedule your Air conditioning maintenance today!