Learn how to use the air conditioning in the perfect way
Air conditioning is one of the biggest consumers of electricity. It is a great feeling when the temperature outside is very high and you come into a fresh and cold room. However, you should know that it is also costing you a lot of money each month. You should change the way you use the A/C and you will notice a huge difference quickly. Firstly, you should do some annual maintenance like checking the ducts, getting new filters and seeing whether the vents open properly. The best idea is to change the filters every month. You should also learn to use the energy saving mode, and leave it on even when you are not in the house. If you put the settings on high, it will drain your wallet more. This easy trick might save you around 10% per year. You should also think of installing a programmable thermostat. It can save you a lot of expenses in the long term. You can set it to certain degrees when there is nobody in the house and bring it up slowly at a certain time before coming home. This goes both for cooling and heating the house.
Devices that are not being used should be unplugged
When you add up all of the small appliances at home, the sum is not that low. By leaving a device plugged in you are still losing a bit of electricity, even though you are not using it. This could add up to about 5% of the consumption. A good idea is to get power strips. Connect your devices to it and just turn the whole strip off then not needed. For computers it is best to turn it off and not put it in “sleep”mode.
Shut the curtains and close the doors
This is the easiest trick out of all. By closing the curtains during summer you can reduce the heat coming from outside by 30%. You can also install awnings on the windows facing south and west in order to cut the heating even more. It is also important to close the doors of rooms you want to cool or heat. There is no need to use up energy for the whole house. Even though you might have central air conditioning, you can install window units in rooms which are used as bedrooms and use during the night and not cool the whole home.
Check the insulation
It is estimated that as much as 20% of energy is lost through the attic. You can get fiberglass insulation which is not that expensive and fix that problem. You can even do it all by yourself, by watching some tutorials online.
Weather stripping should be replaced or installed
After inspection you might be able to find some broken weather stripping. Fixing this will surely help you save on energy consumption and reduce your monthly expenses.