How To Reduce HVAC Energy Costs This Summer

Posted on: 3 June 2018

Your HVAC system is the largest appliance within your home, providing climate control to every room in the house. For that reason, it is also one of the most important, and one of the largest energy using, appliances that you own. This means that the financial burden of your climate control bills in the summer can become quite large, depending on the temperature outside and the settings you choose. Fortunately, there are a few things that you can do to naturally keep the temperature low within your house this summer, and reduce your energy bills at the same time.

Seal the Leaks

The simplest and yet one of the most effective ways to prevent heat exchange between the interior and exterior of your home is to find and close any potential leaks that may exist. They will almost always be around the openings, so check around the windows and doors for missing caulking, weatherstripping, or damaged frames that provide a gap through which air can flow. You can apply caulking yourself with a squeeze tube, simply spreading it in place with your thumb, while weatherstripping is self-adhesive and can be directly placed. Damaged framing and holes in your windows and doors will require professional replacement, however.

Automatic Thermostats

If you haven't done so already, you should install an automatic thermostat in your home. These programmable installations allow you to set different temperatures for your HVAC system at certain times of the day, which means that you can reduce the amount of cooling that you receive when no one is at home or when you are sleeping, and have it kick in when most people will be home – keeping your comfort levels the same but reducing the overall amount of energy that the system wastes through normal operation. 

Ventilation and Circulation

Finally, another really simple way to keep temperatures and bills low is to increase the amount of ventilation and circulation that the interior of your home receives at night. You can turn your HVAC system off (or have your automatic thermostat do it for you) and then open all of the windows and keep the fans on low. This ensures that air is constantly moving throughout your home, carrying a nice breeze with it and allowing heat to be circulated out of your home at a much lower energy cost than if you ran your entire HVAC system overnight.

For more information, contact your local heating and air conditioning contractor.

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