Saving Money on Home Air Conditioning

There are two ways to spend less on cooling your home: use less energy, or use it more efficiently.

How to Use Less and Still Stay Comfortable

One way to use less energy without sacrificing comfort is to install a programmable thermostat. You set the thermostat to higher temperatures for times you will be gone or sleeping. During times you set a higher temperature, your AC will work less. You can set the thermostat to automatically adjust based on your schedule, and change the settings on weekends or vacations.

If your house is properly insulated, and your windows, doors and ducts are properly sealed, cooled air will not leak, and hot air will not come in through cracks. This lowers the workload on your AC, lowering your energy bills in the process.

Use Fans Strategically

Ceiling and portable fans can help circulate air and create a breeze, so you feel cooler without having to drop the thermostat.

Keep Curtains Closed in the Heat of the Day

Particularly during the hottest part of the day, from 3 pm to 4:30 in the summer, keeping curtains and blinds closed will block sunlight and cut the heat gain inside your house.

Use Heat-Generating Appliances Less

Try not to use the oven, stove or clothes dryer during the late afternoon. These heat the house and cause your AC to have to work harder. There’s a good reason grilling out is popular in the summer: it keeps the stove and oven from heating up the kitchen. Even the microwave is a good alternative to the stove and oven, because it uses less energy.

Plant Shade Trees

Trees and shrubs can give natural shade that reduces the amount of sunlight that enters your home. Less sun equals less heat equals less use of air conditioning.

Use AC Efficiently

The other half of the “stay cool for less” formula is to make sure your air conditioner is operating as efficiently as possible—providing maximum cooling for a minimum amount of energy.

Get Regular Professional Maintenance

It may seem counter-intuitive to call a Cincinnati air conditioning service expert when your system seems to be working fine, but an annual tune-up can spot small problems before they become (expensive) big ones, and ensure your equipment is operating at peak efficiency. A non-efficient system not only wastes energy, it serves you for a shorter time. So you compound paying more for energy than you need to with the high cost of equipment replacement before it would have been necessary.

Jansen Heating & Cooling, a best Cincinnati AC company, provides annual maintenance for all client air conditioning systems. If you join our Maintenance Club, we will even remind you when it is time to get your furnace, heat pump or AC serviced. There are other perks as well, like discounts on repairs and installation, and preferred appointment times in emergencies.

Use Energy-Saving Settings

Many air conditioning systems come with energy-saving features such as Sleep Mode or Eco Mode. Use these settings for more efficient equipment operation.

Upgrade to More Energy-Efficient Equipment

When it is time to replace your HVAC system, consider a more energy-efficient one. AC units and heat pumps with higher SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio) ratings use less energy to produce the same amount of heating and cooling.

A more advanced system is an investment, of course, but if you plan to stay in your home for 15 or more years, the investment will more than pay for itself in lower gas and electric bills.

Consider Room Zoning

Installing a zoning system allows you to control the temperature in different parts of your home independently. If there are rooms you rarely use, you can give your AC a break trying to bring the whole house to your favorite summer temperature. This will help your AC last longer.