Hot weather often arrives early in the spring in Texas, so it’s never too early to begin to think about running your AC. Because you use your air conditioning system for most days of the coming months, you can expect to see higher electrical bills. But they don’t have to be as high this summer because we have several tips to help you save money on AC costs. Armed with this advice, you can cut down on those monthly utility bills when the hot weather settles in.
Have the Air Conditioning System Professionally Maintained
One reason for giving you advice about summer savings in the spring is that one of the best steps to take for cutting down on AC costs is a job done in spring: regular maintenance. Air conditioning maintenance in Houston, TX is necessary to keep an AC from losing energy efficiency each year and making it more expensive to run. Maintenance comes with many other benefits, such as reducing the number of repairs the system may need and extending its service life. We’ll talk more about maintenance’s benefits in our next post. For right now, you only have to call us to arrange for the service.
Change the Ac’s Filter Regularly
The air filter on the air conditioner becomes clogged with debris it catches over time and will cause the system to drain more power to draw in air. This is one of the most common causes of wasted AC power because people often forget to change the filter. We recommend putting in a new filter now for the start of the season and continuing with changes every 1 to 3 months afterward. (Frequency depends on the strength of the filter.)
Clean the Outdoor Cabinet
A clean outdoor condenser cabinet helps an air conditioning system more easily expel heat to the outdoors and run at higher efficiency. Water down the cabinet with a hose on low pressure (don’t blast water into the unit) and move away any debris so the condenser has a foot clear on all sides.
Maintain Warmer Thermostat Settings
We know that “warmer” settings on the thermostat may seem bizarre, but we don’t mean pushing the thermostat into the upper 80s! The best energy-saving setting during the day when people are home is 78°F. If that feels a bit too warm, set the thermostat a few degrees cooler and raise it one degree per day so people get used to it. This not only makes the AC run less often, it slows down heat gain, helping to save more energy. At night or when the house is empty, raise the thermostat 8°F.
Maintain Steady Thermostat Settings
Another thermostat tip: keep the recommended temperature settings steady through the day and night. Continually raising and lowering the thermostat based on temperature whims will cause the AC to start and stop more frequently, and this drains much more electricity. If you find that you have to continually fiddle with the settings to get comfortable, you probably need to call for thermostat or AC repairs.
Call All Star A/C & Heating Services: Our integrity is our best, most used tool in our bag.