Tag - energy consumption

6 Best Ways to Save Energy and Money on Your Air Conditioner During the Summer

Summertime has a lot of exciting and fun activities. It includes pool parties, baseball games, backyard cookouts, and more. However, one thing that’s not so good about this season is the scorching heat. With that, it can be tempting to stay at home during the hot summer days.

Running your air conditioning system can account for a significant cost during the summer. Nearly half of your average electric bill is spent on cooling your space. It’s also one of the biggest energy consumers in your home. It uses about 3,500 watts or 3.5 kilowatt-hours for every hour of running the system.

Fortunately, there are a lot of ways to help your air conditioner run better and save money during the summer months. To get more idea, here are six cost-effective ways to save energy and money on your air conditioner during this season.

Use a Smart Thermostat

Upgrading into a smart thermostat is an excellent way to reduce your heating and cooling costs during the summer. This high-quality device can help regulate your cooling system from time to time and save money. You may also adjust its settings automatically using an app on your mobile device.

Utilizing a smart thermostat will help increase your home’s temperature when you’re asleep or out of your house. With the help of this tool, you can set your AC unit at a high temperature as possible and make your space more comfortable. Hence, you can reduce your cooling bill by about 10 percent.

The smart thermostat allows you to turn on or off your AC unit automatically. It can also help automatically keep the temperature on your house at a steady level during the day and at night. Just like a reliable electric company like Astral Energy, using this tool will also help you save up to 10 percent of your annual cooling and heating costs.

Use a Ceiling Fan

The use of a ceiling fan is a cost-effective way to make your space feel up to 10 degrees cooler. It uses only about 10 percent of energy than running a central air conditioning unit. It also allows you to raise your smart thermostat setting up to 4 degrees Celcius without reducing comfort.

A ceiling fan can help effectively circulate the air in your room and help create a draft throughout the area. It can also make your space more comfortable via its wind-chill effect. However, you also need to turn off the fan when you’re not using it, which helps promote global energy conservation initiatives.

Apart from that, you can also install a high-tech smart ceiling fan that can connect into an app. It allows you to automatically turn on and off your fan as well as controlling its speed remotely. It also has built-in radios and sensors that can help regulate the temperature in your room more efficiently.

Insulate and Seal Your Doors and Windows

Adding insulation to your home is a great way to reduce the heat that can pass through your walls. It can help keep your space cool during the summer and warm during the winter. Insulating your attic can also help prevent the sun from heating your room into oven-like temperatures.

Insulating your attic will help keep the stored heat from spreading throughout your house. Doing so can help you save up to 40 percent of your cooling bill. You can install blown-in cellulose insulation for your attic. It’s the most practical and cost-effective option to save energy on your cooling and heating costs.

Sealing your doors and windows is also a great way to help keep your house cool during the summer. It’s essential to seal the gaps around your windows and doors to avoid air from escaping, which is one of the causes of energy loss. You can utilize caulk or weatherstripping to help lower your energy use by about 10 percent.

Shade Your Windows

The direct sunlight can heat your house by entering through your windows. It may increase the temperature in your room by up to 10 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit. It may also cause your AC system to work harder to cool your space. Thus, incorporating window treatments such as shutters, roll-up shades, and curtains can help reduce solar heat gain.

You can close your blinds or curtains on the windows that face toward the direct sunlight. You may do it throughout your house if you’re out during the day. If you’re at home, you may close your curtains on windows that face in the east in the morning. You can open them in the afternoon, and close the ones that are facing in the west.

Avoid Heat Buildup During the Day

The heat in the summer can increase the temperature inside your home. With that in mind, you need to avoid activities that can generate a lot of heat, especially during the day. It includes using the dishwasher or clothes dryer and cooking on the stovetop.

Instead, you can microwave your food or grill it on the outside, hang your clothes on a clothesline, and wash your dishes by hand and let them air-dry. You may also try to do them during the night when temperatures had dropped. The use of a bathroom exhaust fan will also help remove excess heat and humidity when you bathe during the day.

Maintain Your Cooling System

Sometimes, it’s not enough to install a programmable thermostat and use an energy efficient AC unit. If you don’t properly care for your appliance, then you won’t reduce energy costs from your cooling bills. Dirty air conditioning filters may block airflow, which makes it work harder to cool your home during the summer.

Regularly cleaning your AC system and replacing its filters once a month can help lower its energy consumption by about 5 to 15 percent. For your central cooling system, make sure that your floor isn’t blocked with dust or furniture. Its evaporator and condenser coils must also be clear of debris and dirt to help keep them work at their highest efficiency level.

Takeaway

Running your air conditioner in the summer can significantly increase your electricity bill. But there are a few ways to save on energy and money on your cooling costs. You can do the cost-effective ways listed above to help your air conditioner run better while saving energy as the summer months progress.

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A Smart Lifestyle: 6 Best Online Tools to Save Energy in Your Home

As a homeowner, there are a lot of options you can make when it comes to improving your home’s energy efficiency. One of them is to invest in green appliances and hybrid cars to save energy effectively. Doing so can provide various impacts for conserving energy in your home while helping protect the environment.

Apart from that, there are also other green options you can choose that are suitable for your budget. The use of online tools is a convenient and affordable way to help you save energy at home while making your area more comfortable. To know more of them, here are six best online tools to save on energy and money in your home cost-effectively.

Energy Made Easy

Energy made easy is a  government website that allows you to compare electricity and gas retailers from other markets. It can help you understand and analyze your electricity usage by comparing it with other households in your area. It can also help you learn about energy topics like your rights and obligations, bills, contracts, and the energy market.

The use of energy made easy online tool can provide you with a benchmark that helps you know whether you use more or less electricity compared to those around you. Just like a clean and reliable energy company like Astral Energy LLC, using it will also help you save money by providing you with a suitable energy plan.

This online tool is a free government website that can assess you on estimating your annual bill for each plan you choose effectively. This free tool is also accurate in helping you decide on which of these plans can help you save energy the most. You may also switch into another energy plan without any cost.

Home Energy Checklist

Simple changes can make a lot of difference when it comes to saving your energy at home. With that in mind, the use of this home energy checklist is a great way to reduce your home’s energy use. It can also provide you with an online list that includes actions you can take to conserve energy in your home cost-effectively.

Running through this online checklist allows you to save a significant amount of energy in your home. Most points on the home energy checklist won’t require you with much effort. Some of them is turning off the lights in an unoccupied area or when not using them and unplugging your equipment that may drain energy when not using them.

The checklist will provide you with outlined actions that can help you conserve energy daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly. Applying them at home will help make the area more sustainable and energy efficient while helping reduce your carbon footprint.

Energy Tracker

Energy Tracker is one of the best tools you can use to help manage your energy consumption at home. Using it online or on your mobile device will help set up your home’s energy profile quickly. You may also update it while making energy efficient improvements for your home using energy tracker.

You may also conduct your energy audit using this online tool. The tool can help you determine which areas in your home lose energy. Using it will also help you identify which problem areas you need to prioritize to help make your home more comfortable and energy efficient. Hence, you can quickly determine how much electricity your home uses.

A home energy audit is your first step before making energy efficient improvements for your home with the help of energy tracker. You can use the table it provides to help calculate your home appliances’ energy costs effectively. It can also identify how the energy in your home is being used.

This online tool is also great for pinpointing which appliances consume the most energy in your home which you need to upgrade first. Energy tracker can also help you find the best recommendations and the steps to help save energy and how much you can save for every action.

Sustainability Victoria

A safe and energy efficient transport guide from Sustainability Victoria is a way to help you achieve sustainability and multiple health goals. Utilizing its methods is one of the best ways to commute while helping save on energy. Incorporating the simple changes to your daily commute can also help you save a significant amount of energy and money.

Transportation is one of the largest energy consuming sectors nowadays. Sustainability Victoria can provide you with a transport guide that offers information on how to use sustainable transport. This guide can also help reduce the demand for energy which can benefit your wallet in the long run.

Commuting has been a part of everyone’s life, especially when you travel far distances when going to work. With that, the use of this energy efficient transport guide is a great way to save energy and reduce your carbon dioxide emissions that are harmful to the environment.

Green Vehicle Calculator

A green vehicle or a hybrid is a road motor vehicle that can produce less harmful impacts to the environment. Compared to other cars that utilize gasoline or diesel, using it is an excellent way to conserve energy since it uses alternative fuels. It can also help reduce carbon dioxide emissions that are harmful to the environment.

A green vehicle calculator is an online tool you can use to find out your total monthly fuel cost as well as your carbon dioxide emissions. It can also provide you with data on air and noise pollution and your daily fuel consumption. Thus, the use of a green vehicle is a great way to reduce your fuel consumption while helping protect the environment.

Energy Rating Calculator

When you shop for a new home appliance, consider how much it may cost to run. The use of an energy rating calculator is one of the best ways to save money on your electricity bills by helping you on choosing energy efficient appliances. The tool also allows you to compare models that can help you save on energy and money more effectively.

This calculator can also help you determine which appliances consume the most energy in your home. It can also provide you with the energy rating label so that you can make a smart choice and save money when buying your appliances. Thus, you can now shop a high-quality dishwasher, fridge, and TV with confidence.

Takeaway

Saving energy in your home doesn’t need to be expensive. The use of online tools such as those listed above is a convenient and cost-effective option you can take to help conserve energy at home. They won’t only help reduce your energy bills, but they can also help protect the environment for future generations.

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