You work hard for your money, so the last thing you want to do is spend it all paying to cool your home. Americans spend more than 20 billion dollars each year to cool their homes, which is a lot of money. Rest assured that you can cool your home without breaking the bank. Learn what you can do to keep your costs manageable.

1. Rotate the Ceiling Fan

A ceiling fan may not provide the same level of coolness as the A/C, but it can help make your home cooler. At the start of spring, adjust the fan so that its blades rotate in a counterclockwise position.

When the blades circulate in this direction, they pull the hot air up and force the cooled air downward. The fan should have a small level that allows you to adjust its direction easily.

2. Invest in a Smart Thermostat

Air conditioning is intended to cool people, not furniture, floors and other fixtures around the home. However, when the A/C is running at the same rate when no one is home as it does when the house is full, this is exactly what's happening.

An investment in a smart thermostat can reduce your cooling cost by around 15%, which is considerable. Smart thermostats allow you to pre-program the temperature based on the time of day and day of the week and enable you to adjust the temperature remotely.

3. Close the Blinds

Natural light is a great way to keep your electrical usage lower as it reduces your dependence on lights. However, on hot days, opening the blinds or curtains makes your home warmer, especially on the sun-facing side of your home.

Keeping your windows covered can reduce the amount of heat gained through the windows by as much as 80%. Invest in solar-rated curtains and shades for the maximum benefit.

4. Inspect for Duct Leaks

Once your air conditioning system cools the air, the ducts then deliver this air to the different areas of your home. When there is a duct leak, some rooms will be noticeably warmer than others. To cool things off, some people lower the reading on their thermostat further.
In this scenario, the person is wasting money on the cooled air that is escaping through the leak, and with the extra cost they incur from adjusting their thermostat even lower. Have the ducts inspected around every five years to spot a leak.

5. Use Your Grill

Take advantage of the weather and keep your home cooler by taking dinner time, outside, some days. When you turn up the oven temperature, the inside of the appliance isn't the only thing that heats up. Heat from the oven can also radiate out and warm the kitchen.

For a small home or a house with an open floor plan, this heat can increase the temperature in more than just the kitchen. If you don't want to grill outside, avoid using the oven during the middle of the day when it's the hottest outside.

6. Maintain the A/C Unit

Efficiency and cost go hand-in-hand when it comes to air conditioning systems. When the A/C unit isn't performing efficiently, you will spend more money - there is no way around it. The reason for this is that an air conditioning system in poor condition will work harder, which also means it will consume more energy.

Ensure you're repairing any issues promptly and having your unit inspected annually. You should also commit to changing or cleaning the filters regularly.

Staying cool in your home shouldn't be unaffordable. Apply these tips to help keep your costs lower. For all your service needs or for additional money saving tips, contact Robert L. Shealy Heating & Air Conditioning.