With summers knocking on doors and ringing bells, the only place where you can find utmost relief is in an air-conditioned room. Of course, there are several ways that make an air conditioner one of the most important machines during the blazing summers. However, one thing that no one should forget is that this machine can be responsible enough for hiking your energy bills.
If not maintained properly, a malfunctioned air conditioner can consume more than necessary energy, leaving you with nothing but a huge expense. If you don’t want to be stuck in that situation, here is the ultimate guide that will help you save energy and air conditioner repair bills.
Turn off at night
One of the best tips to save energy consumption is keeping air conditioning unit on throughout the day and off during the night. The reason behind this trick is quite simple. First of all, the air in the evening is comparatively cooler than that of the day air. Thus, you can take advantage of the natural air and keep your air conditioner off while keeping the windows open. You may even experience gentle breeze at this hour.
Furthermore, if the breeze is cool and welcoming, you can even consider keeping all the windows and doors open to allow the air flow. Secondly, to have a comfortable slumber, your body does not need the AC running at the same temperature as it was running in the day.
Therefore, by keeping the air conditioner off, you can experience nightly energy savings along with sweet and sound slumber. However, if you think that you would require the air conditioning cooling to doze off to sleep, you can even make use of sleep mode in the AC, if it is present. This mode, usually, consumes less energy than the other ones.
If this is not happening, you can set the timer. Once you are sure that you will be deep into sleep after a particular hour, you can set the timer accordingly. It will switch off the AC automatically, and you would not even have to compromise with your sleep.
Use Thermostats and timers
Every degree gets counted when it is about saving energy consumption and reducing the air conditioner bill throughout the summertime. Thus, one of the useful energy-efficient things to do is set the thermostat at a comfortable level of temperature that would not compel your unit to work hard, meanwhile, helping you experience a cool temperature.
Generally, the adequate temperature of a thermostat should be somewhere between 22 and 24 degrees Celsius for best results. However, you must keep in mind that with every increase in the degree, you would be saving a lot on your energy bills.
Hence, if possible, avoid setting the thermostat too cold during the time of summers. Moreover, you can even consider increasing the degrees on your air conditioner as it can help you save up to 10% of the cost. Also, make sure that you are keeping the outdoor temperature in mind. And, possibly, you should not be going lesser than 8 degrees after the consideration.
So, if the outdoor temperature is 32, you should not be setting your thermostat lesser than 24 degrees. You can even consider purchasing such a thermostat that comes with an inbuilt timer to reduce energy bills. With this feature, you would be able to set the operating hours to gain maximum energy efficiency.
Close Off Vents
Traditionally, the basement is usually the coolest room of the house. Hence, you must try closing off the vents that are available in that lower portion of your house. If they remain open, the cool air will spread down naturally, making the upper room hotter and warmer. In this way, your air conditioner would have to work hard to keep the upper rooms cooler. By closing the vents, you will make sure that the air remains upside only.
Not just vents, but you should be closing all of the blinds, windows, drapes, or shutters available in your room or house. This method will keep out hot air, which will definitely take away the load from the air conditioner to keep the temperature optimal.
There is no denying the fact that newly constructed houses come with certain leakages that allow the passage of heat and air conditioner’s breeze in and out. If this is happening in your house as well, you must be taking strict measure, without further ado, to save on your electricity bills. Apart from closing off windows and vents, you can also try the method of duct tape.
By sealing your hidden leaks, it will become easier to divert cool and heated air from the intended destination. This will prevent efficiency consumption and undesirable increase in the utility bill.
Shut Out the Sun
During a significantly hot summer day, you surely cannot shut off the radiations of the sun from entering your house. However, you can surely keep the house shady. Thus, one considerable and effective way of keeping the energy consumption as lower as possible is by trying to prevent sunrays peeking inside your house through different ways, be it windows or doors.
Once this is done, you would be able to minimalize the efforts of an air conditioner and will be able to reduce your energy consumption bills. Although you would have already kept your blinds, drapes, and curtains closed and drawn, however, it is not always that this method keeps the radiation away.
Therefore, you would need something strong and robust on your windows and blinds to deflect heat from the sun. For this to happen, you can add an additional layer of cover on these sides of the house so that the sun would not dare get inside the windows and make rooms even hotter and warmer. If you want, you can even put shutters on your windows.
Another best method to use is bringing the touch of mother nature to your house. Consider planting trees and shrubs in the forefront and the backyard of your house to stay surrounded by greenery and cooling air.
Don’t Forget Fan
During the summertime, no other electrical component or device seems to provide as much satisfaction as an air conditioner would, right? And, definitely so, you rely on this unit to keep your surroundings cool. However, even if you take some help from supplemental fans, things will not change, but your utility bill surely can. By using fans to circulate the cool air all around would simply reduce the necessity of pumping more air into the room.
Of course, in comparison with air conditioners, fans use less energy. Thus, having them as a backup would surely be a great choice. If you have a ceiling fan, you can use it during the early evenings or daytime to keep the house and your family members cool enough.
Contrary to your perspective, ceiling fans or other kinds of fans are quite effective. And, it will be proved once you will start using them to the best of them. Not just they will be helping you keep the house cool, but apparently, such fans have turned out to be helpful in reducing the final cost of utility bills up to 7% to 10%. With the wind-chill effect, these fans can help you experience six or seven degrees of a cooler environment.
Service Regularly
There is no denying the fact that an air conditioning unit has to undergo a lot of pressure to do its job. After all, it is not that easier to live in a cool environment, while the world is ablaze out there. If your unit is trying to put a lot of effort, it becomes your responsibility to keep it maintained and updated. For that, you can opt for periodic maintenance and cleaning services.
There are small things that you can do to make a huge impact. To begin with, don’t keep your air conditioner surrounded with such things that can obstruct the air. It can have a critical impact. And then, changing filters regularly and cleaning them should also be done as filters can be clogged with dirt and other elements.
Furthermore, the condenser coils and evaporators should be cleared of dirt and debris. These cleaning and maintenance measurements may seem quite simple to you and neglecting them would not be a tough task, either. However, in the regular run, these basic things, when ignored, can lead to disasters in the house and an increased repairing bill as well. So, make sure that you are not taking anything for granted.
Conclusion
An air conditioner is one such device that comes with a lot of benefits and satisfaction to the mind and body when you have spent the entire day outside, in the hot burning sun. However, every single thing comes with two sides of the story. Considering the pros that air conditioners offer, you should not be neglecting the cons of it. If not handled properly, it can increase electricity bills and cause damages to the environment.
Thus, it is important to take precautions as much as you can. Make sure that you are following tips above-mentioned to be at the advantageous side. Also, keep your eyes and ears open. Whenever you come across any malfunction, make sure that you are consulting an experienced technician right away.
Also, don’t rely on any inexperienced technician for the repairing task of your air conditioner as it can have its own repercussions. So, be cautious, and be safe.