Ways to Increase Your Home's Energy Efficiency

Summertime is the season of swimsuits, sundaes and sweat. We all know that the summer heat can be brutal, but staying cool can also put a strain on your budget. Here are a few tricks to keep cool during the summer months and help increase your home’s energy efficiency. 

Why should you care when you aren’t home?

Setting your thermostat to a higher-than-normal temperature can help save you money in the long run by keeping your unit from running cool air you really don’t need. If you aren’t home during the day, you won’t notice if it’s hot inside, so turn it up before you leave for work and back down when you get home in the afternoon. If you have a programmable thermostat, you can set it to kick on automatically at a certain time, like a half hour before you usually get home to give it time to cool off before you arrive. 

While it’s a good idea not to have your unit cooling the house while you aren’t there, it’s not a good idea to turn the unit completely off, especially if you live in an area where summer days regularly reach 90 degrees or higher. This is because it can get so hot in your house that when you turn your unit back on, it may not be able to catch up as quickly. Experts say the ideal temperature is about 78 degrees for most homes in order to be most energy efficient. 

How are you eliminating heat intrusion? 

As nice as a warm summer day may look, the reality is that when you open your blinds and curtains, you are allowing sunlight to get trapped inside your home with no way to escape. This capturing of sunlight can make your home extremely hot over the course of the day. Consider closing your blinds during the day or pulling the curtain over your window to keep the sun’s heat from blazing in. 

Heat can also intrude under door frames and window sills if they aren’t properly sealed. Ensure your weather stripping is installed correctly and isn’t damaged to keep heat from entering as well.

Are you making good use of your air conditioning?

Your home’s air conditioning registers are a great source for pet dander and dust collection. You should regularly clean your registers out and replace your air filters to ensure that you’re getting your money’s worth out of running your air conditioner. You should also make sure that your registers are unblocked by furniture, rugs or anything that can cause blockage in the air flow throughout your home. 

Enjoy this summer without the worry of high energy bills to compensate for the heat index outside. Use these tips to help maximize every dollar spent on air conditioning and live comfortably. 

Got any ideas we missed? Tell us about them in the comments below!