This summer is another hot one in Southwest Florida.  And, if you’re like a lot of people, you’re tempted to crank up the A/C to stay comfortable.  Before you do, think about what that does to your energy bill.  In fact, there are many factors that affect your energy bill when the temperatures start to soar.  Here are a few tips for staying affordably cool while saving energy in the long term:

1. Don’t turn the A/C temperature all the way down. It might be nice to cool your place to the high 60s, but resist the urge; keeping your place that cool takes a lot of energy.  And, your energy costs rise by about 5% for each degree your thermostat is lowered.

Think about turning on a fan to move the air around—that can help keep you comfortable without lowering the thermostat. If you use air conditioning, a ceiling fan will allow you to raise the thermostat setting about 4°F with no reduction in comfort.  And, remember to turn off ceiling fans when you leave a room; fans cool people, not rooms, by creating a wind chill effect.

2. Turn the A/C temperature higher while you’re out. For this, a programmable thermostat is helpful. Set the AC to 78°F only when you’re home, and just a few degrees higher while you’re at work.  If you don’t have a programmable thermostat, though, just dial up the temperature on the thermostat when you’re ready to leave.

3. Keep your A/C filters clean. You might need to clean and/or replace your filters more than twice a year, if you have dogs and cats.  Keeping your filter clean is one of the easiest ways to ensure the efficient operation of your home cooling system.  If you don’t know the location of your filter, check with us.  We can also tell you which filters are appropriate for your individual circumstances.

4. Keep your indoor and outdoor air conditioning coils clean. You’ll want a special evaporator coil cleaner for your interior unit and a solution of water and non-toxic, non-acidic cleaner on the exterior coil.  Conditioned Air can perform this on a one-time or regular basis.

5. Don’t let plants and other obstructions block your condenser. Make sure you’ve got good airflow around the unit.  It’s best to keep vegetation at least 18 inches away from the air conditioner.  And, don’t put any kind of shed or building over your unit.  Keep the evaporator (indoor coil) unobstructed.  Make sure the evaporator is not blocked to insure proper airflow across the coil. (This may require a professional service technician to clean the coil).  Coils should be cleaned in order to preserve the efficiency of the unit.

6. Watch out for ice on the pipes at your evaporator coil. If you spot this, it signals a potentially serious problem. Turn off your unit right away and call us to send out a technician right away.

7. Reduce air leaks. Of course, you’ll want to keep doors and windows closed.  But, you can stay both comfortable and energy efficient by adding insulation to the attic and sealing cracks around windows and doors.  This helps your home retain its conditioned air.

Some of these tips are basic maintenance items that should be performed each year anyway.  Some are simple actions you can perform to keep from using more energy than necessary for home comfort.  Ask us about more ways to stay affordably cool this summer, and beat the heat without going over budget.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about summer energy savings and other HVAC topics, click here to download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Conditioned Air services Southwest Florida including cities Marco Island, Ft. Myers or anywhere in between.  To get started, check out our website or see our special offers.