One of the ways that people use energy during the summer months is running their air conditioner. This is what accounts for the most amount of energy usage. The unit is running quite often to keep an entire home cooled down to the temperature that you want. Fortunately, there are many ways to cut the cost. Simply by making sure that you have the right size unit is one way. Too big of a unit can turn on and off more frequently causing the unit to burn out and therefor costing you more money. If it is too small it can take too much time to get to temperature and this can cost you on the energy bill. Here are some great hacks on how you can save money when trying to cool your home down this summer.

WINDOWS: A window is constantly being hit by the summer heat and because the layer of the window is not as thick as a wall, it heats up and radiates that heat into the room. Another way that windows can be costing you money on your energy bill is they can have bad weather stripping hence allowing the cooled air to escape. Take time to replace or repair the weather stripping around all the windows in your home. You should also make sure that windows are kept closed during the day and if possible to add a layer of curtains or blinds to help keep the glare of the hot sun from entering the room.

LIGHTS: When you have a room that has the lights on all day it can cause the room to heat up a few degrees. All light bulbs let off some heat and many bulbs let off substantial amount of heat. The longer the bulb is on the more heat is entering the room and triggering the thermostat to kick on the AC again. If you don’t need the light it is best to keep them off during the day to keep the bulbs from heating up the room.

CEILING FANS: Be sure that if you are using a ceiling fan or other type of fan that it is only running when you are sitting under it. The fan is not actually cooling the air down, but just helping to circulate the air around the body and dispersing the hot air. This can help you feel cooled off but if you’re not in the room the fan is simply just using energy.

These quick hacks are a great way to help keep your home cool this summer along with proper maintenance and repairs. Call National Air Conditioning and Refrigeration for an estimate today.