Revised:
April 6th, 2023
Are your summer HVAC bills too high? Are you looking for a way to get them under control? We can offer some suggestions.
Hi, I’m Luke from Fire & Ice. As a residential sales professional, I’ve helped thousands of Central Ohio homeowners get the most out of their HVAC system. At Fire & Ice we believe in giving our customers as much information as they need. In this video, we’re going to go over ways you can lower your summer cooling bill.
Schedule Routine Maintenance
Regular routine maintenance helps everything. The biggest thing it can do is help the system run smoothly. If it uncovers a part that’s wearing out, it can save money on a future repair bill. It can identify small problems that might turn into larger problems if they were left unattended.
Thinking about skipping maintenance because your air conditioner is new and trouble-free? Your AC may be without obvious issues. There are no new sounds coming from it, no puddles near your furnace, and the cool it’s sending through the house feels fine. But each year your AC goes without its routine tune-up, it loses about 5% of its efficiency. That's 5¢ lost for every dollar you spend to cool the house every year you neglect your system. And as it gets older, that 5¢ will increase.
Invest in a Dehumidifier
Whole-home dehumidifiers can definitely help. An air conditioner is dehumidifying the air as it cools. While dehumidifiers aren’t designed to reduce a room’s temperature, removing humidity can make it feel cooler and more comfortable. If the air temperature is 80°F and the relative humidity is 80% percent, then the air temperature feels like 84°F. If the relative humidity drops to 60% and the temperature remains the same, the air temperature feels two degrees cooler. As a result, an air conditioning unit won’t have to work as hard to make a home feel more comfortable, which should help to reduce energy costs. This is especially true for muggy homes with tough to cool areas such as second floors.
Switch to a Programmable Thermostat
A programmable thermostat can help you remember to raise the temperature in the summer from 72 to 75 when you’re away from home. Saving money through your thermostat is going to be based on how you use it. For every 1 degree Fahrenheit you turn up your thermostat in the summer, you'll use about 1% less energy. Energy Star estimates that homeowners properly using programmable thermostats can save about $180 a year. If you want the latest in energy savings, you can switch to a smart thermostat. Most of them will allow you to see your savings with the push of a button or two.
Invest in a High-Efficiency Air Conditioner
Buying a high-efficiency air conditioner could save you money, but it depends on how you use it. If you have an old air conditioner and you buy a new one, and you keep it at the same temperature as the old one, your energy bill will go down with the newer unit.
Also a newer two-stage model can run at a stage that’s about 60% of capacity. This AC will run longer because it can create comfort at a slower speed, and better balance the temperatures in the home. It will provide better comfort than a single-stage AC, and will save on energy bills.
Clean Your Air Ducts
Your home’s ductwork is like arteries. It feeds air to every room of your house, and if the system has a performance issue, multiple rooms can suffer.
Bad airflow in your ductwork costs you money. Clogged vents and narrowed duct pathways create hot and cold spots in your home, and can also make your air conditioner work harder than it needs to. A thorough ductwork cleaning removes these buildups of dirt and grime, allowing your system to run smoothly and efficiently.
A thorough cleaning will address dust build-up on the blower, which will then work more efficiently than a dirty one. It will improve airflow, and if the airflow is better, your AC will be more efficient.
Change Your Furnace’s Filter
A clean filter helps your house in many ways. It will capture most of the dust and bacteria floating in the air, creating a cleaner, healthier home. But a dirty filter will eventually stop catching dust because it will be saturated. The dust that normally would be caught gets past the filter and winds up in the main compartment of your furnace. It can wind up on the blower motor, the blower wheel, and coils. Clean parts mean a more efficient system.
What Are The Next Steps?
I hope by now you have a better understanding of how you can lower your summer cooling bill. If you’d like to schedule a service appointment for your system, click the schedule service button at the top of the screen. Thank you for watching and we look forward to making your day better.
