Energy costs are high now, and you may not want to look at your electric bills this summer because they make you winch. Unless you want to live miserably through a hot summer in Texas, you’ll have to run your AC … but does it have to cost this much?
The answer is probably “no.” In our experience providing air conditioning service to Cypress, TX and throughout the Katy, TX area, many homeowners have gotten into habits with cooling their homes and operating their air conditioning systems that unnecessarily waste power. You may not have control over the price of energy, but you do have some methods to slice away wasteful habits and power-draining mistakes.
Allow us to go through what you might be doing wrong so we can help you make corrections that will keep your house cool for less.
Aim for 78°F indoors during the day
The hotter it gets outside, the more likely people will shove their home’s thermostat down lower in the hopes of overcoming the heat. This doesn’t provide a larger volume of cooling or make the AC cool the house faster—it only makes the AC run for longer as it struggles to reach a setting it might not be able to achieve. We recommend setting the thermostat at 78° during the day when people are home—that’s cool enough for most people, and it also slows down how fast the house gains heat from outside. These settings can cut down on cooling costs by 5–20%.
Never skip annual maintenance
We always post spring reminders about scheduling air conditioning maintenance with our team. Maintenance is the surest way to prevent your AC from suffering a yearly decline in energy efficiency. Missing maintenance during the year will cause a 5% reduction in energy efficiency, and that will add up over time. Our maintenance will see that your air conditioning system works at its peak efficiency.
Keep the AC running when you’re away from home
You don’t save money when you shut the AC off entirely. Instead, you allow your house to become too hot, so when you return home you have to expend more energy to get control over the heat. We recommend you set the thermostat to around 86–88°F when you’re away (no matter how long). The AC won’t run often, but it will keep the house just cool enough that you won’t need to waste huge amounts of power to cool it back down to 78°F when you return.
Use a programmable or smart thermostat
Speaking of cooling down the house when you come home … a programmable thermostat lets you have the AC start to cool the house before you arrive so you have comfort when you get in the door. Programming gives you a greater range of control over the thermostat and makes it easier to automate the best settings during the day and night. A smart thermostat goes a few steps further. This technology monitors your home and uses your history of settings to find the ideal programs for maximum energy efficiency. We install many thermostat types: just ask us for recommendations.
At AC Comfort, Your Comfort Is Our Business! Leave your air conditioning needs and concerns in our capable hands.