10 Different Ways to Save Money on Your Air Conditioning Bill
Date - 03/20/2023
Air Therm Understands!
Do the rising costs of utilities worry you?
Do the rising temperatures of summer concern you?
We get it!
Savannah’s intense heat and humidity requires air conditioning to be comfortable, but you know that the more you run the air conditioner, the higher your utility bills.
Air Therm can help!
Here are 10 different ways to save money on your air conditioning bill this summer:
- Use a programmable thermostat
- Seal air leaks
- Turn on your ceiling fans
- Close the curtains. Lower the shades. Shut the blinds.
- Cook outside and enjoy the gorgeous Savannah scenery
- Purchase and use Energy-Star appliances
- Implement zone cooling
- Run a dehumidifier
- Consider cool-roof technology
- Join Air Therm’s Comfort Club
A programmable thermostat can save you up to 10% on your energy bills by automatically adjusting the temperature when you're not home or when you're sleeping. For example, if you set your thermostat to turn off the AC when you leave for work, you can save up to $180 per year.
Many “smart” programmable thermostats today can even be controlled from an app on your phone. If you’re delayed at the office, you can tell your thermostat not to start cooling the house yet. If you get to come home early, you can tell your thermostat to start up the air conditioner before you leave the office.
When was the last time you looked to see if your weather-stripping seals around the door are intact?
Have you checked lately to see if there are cracks around your windows?
Is there any air leaking out around your attic opening or you’re a plumbing vent?
Even a small air leak can cause you to lose a lot of energy which means that your air conditioner has to run longer to replace the lost air. The longer it runs, the more it costs.
Sealing air leaks can save you up to 20% on your energy bills by reducing the workload on your AC unit. For example, if you use weather stripping to seal leaks around your windows and doors, you can save up to $200 per year.
Ceiling fans can work in tandem with your air conditioning, helping circulate the air.
If you turn on a ceiling fan while the air conditioner is running, you can increase the temperature of the room by four degrees and not feel any different. Using the dynamic duo of fans and air conditioners also reduces the wear and tear on your air conditioner, extending its life.
A 3-ton air conditioner costs $ .36 per hour to use, but a ceiling fan runs for 3 hours before it costs you! Using the two together just makes good sense cents!
This is a low-tech approach, for sure, but protecting your windows from incoming sunlight is a surefire way to save money on your air conditioning bills.
Did you know that 76% of the light that comes in through windows enters in the form of heat?
Close the curtains. Lower the shades. Shut the blinds. Save yourself some money.
Energy experts believe that you save up to 7% on your energy bills by reducing the amount of heat that enters your home from direct sunlight. Using blinds or curtains to block out the sun for 8 hours per day will save up to $80 per year.
No one wants to be stuck inside a kitchen, stirring over a stove, or stuffing dishes into a hot oven.
Using your oven or stove can increase the temperature in your home by up to 10 degrees, causing your AC unit to work harder.
Cook outside.
Cooking outdoors can save you up to 30% on your energy bills by reducing the amount of heat that enters your home. Preparing meals on a grill or outdoor smoker instead of using the oven for 2 hours per day will save you almost $70 per year.
Using energy-efficient appliances can save you up to 25% on your energy bills. That’s a lot of cash. For example, if you replace an old refrigerator with an ENERGY STAR certified model, you can save up to $300 over its lifetime.
Washers. Dryers. Dishwashers. Water heaters. Stoves. Every kind of appliance these days can be purchased with a mind to energy efficiency. EnergyStar.gov suggests that a typical household will save approximately $450 on their energy bill each year by using EnergyStar appliances.
One of the greatest advantages of the popular new ductless systems the ability to “zone” your air conditioning. Units can be turned on only when someone is using the room. Many of them even have motion sensors that automatically turn the air on when someone enters the room.
Central air systems also have the ability to “zone” areas allowing for different temperatures in different rooms.
Using zone cooling can save you up to 30% on your energy bills by cooling only the zones that you're using, and one study calculates up to a $400 per year savings by zoning.
Savannah’s climate is classified as “humid subtropical.”
To keep your air conditioner from working so hard to remove the moisture from the air all the time, try using a dehumidifier. Turning a dehumidifier on for eight hours a day can reduce your energy bills by 10% by easing the workload of your AC.
Using a dehumidifier daily can save you up to $60 per year.
Do you know what cool-roof technology is?
If you have to have your roof replaced or are building a new home, check out new building materials that reflect the sun’s light and heat.
You might not know that 90% of the world’s roofs are dark colors. It used to be that only white or light-colored roofs would help reflect the sun’s warmth. Those dark colored roofs absorbed the heat and light, sometimes increasing the temperature by more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit over the air temperature. Some roofs would get as hot as 190 degrees making it hard for your air conditioner to keep your home cool.
New technology is creating different building materials that can reflect the sun’s heat and light, lowering the stress on your air conditioner and requiring less energy to keep your home comfortable.
We keep telling you about this because it’s important.
Routine tune-ups on your air conditioning units can drastically reduce the chance of breakdowns. They can lower your utility bills by up to 15% by keeping your unit running at maximum efficiency.
Clean coils. Clean filters. Clean drain lines.
Twice yearly inspections make sure one of the most expensive systems in your home is in good working condition.
Join our Comfort Club to get your two tune-ups each year (Spring and Fall) on each unit in your home.
Not only do you get guaranteed biannual visits, but you get 15% off on all repairs and front of the line service.
All for just $99 a year.
PLUS, we will treat you like our grandma!