20 Summer Tips

20 Summer Tips comes via the Tallahassee (FL) Utilities Services. Find their website at: http://www.floridapsc.com/publications/electricgas/20summer.aspx

1. Close shades, drapes and blinds during the day (all directions). 2. Wear light weight clothing (short sleeves, shorts, cotton). 3. Set the air conditioning thermostat at 78 degrees or higher. Raise it a few degrees higher when away in the day. A lower air conditioning temperature makes your costs much higher. Setting your air conditioner at 70 degrees instead of 78 can almost double your operating cost! 4. Don’t choose a lower air conditioning temperature when you first turn it on. It won’t cool faster –- whenever it’s running it’s cooling as fast as it can. Set low, it cools longer, not faster. 5. When weather is mild, use fans instead of the air conditioner. Your central air conditioner will use about 100 times more energy than a fan at medium speed. 6. If you have ceiling fans, run the fans and the air conditioner at the same time but set the air conditioner a few degrees higher, to 80 or 81 degrees. With the breeze from a fan, you should feel as cool as you would at 78 degrees with no fans – but you’ll reduce your costs by about 15%-25%. However, don't wait until the peak of the day's heat to turn ON your air conditioner - it isn't going to cool how you would like it to. It is much easier to keep a home cool than to cool down a home if it's been baking all day. 7. Use a microwave instead of the range/oven. The microwave doesn’t heat the kitchen. 8. Keep windows and doors closed while air conditioning. Isn't this a given? Unless you want to pay to cool the outside, keep your doors/windows closed. 9. Change the air conditioner’s air filter monthly during heavy use. When it’s clogged, air flow is restricted -- cooling costs rise, and your system may eventually suffer a compressor failure with a $1,000+ repair bill! This is one of our most common repair calls!! Please CHECK your filter before paying for a service call. Of course, if you think about it - if the filter is so full that it prevents air flow - your home isn't going to get any air cool or not. It's really easy to keep filters clean, and an expensive problem if you don't. 10. Arrange items in your refrigerator for quick removal and return. Your refrigerator cools the food but heats the kitchen! The longer the door is open, the longer it runs, heating the kitchen and raising your air conditioning costs. 11. Vent the clothes dryer to the out-of-doors. Otherwise it pours heat and moisture into the house air. Humidity is what makes the home feel warm - (part of the air conditioner's job is to take moisture out of cooled air to help you feel more comfortable). So don't add excess moisture - the same goes for taking hot showers while the air is running. It adds water into the air and your home will feel warmer. 12. Clean the dryer lint filter frequently and check the outdoor vent opening. When lint slows the airflow, the dryer runs longer. When the vent is clogged, the clothes get a long hot damp costly tumbling. 13. Drink plenty of cool liquids. Avoid caffeine or alcohol. Eat lightly. Cook outdoors. 14. Plant shade trees. Outside shade can reduce air conditioning costs 30%. Shade on the east and west is most important. 15. Seal air leaks around doors and windows. Use caulk and weatherstripping. 16. With central AC or heat pump, keep all air conditioning supply registers open, don’t close off rooms or registers. That doesn’t save money, and it may lead to costly problems. 17. Check for air duct leaks. Duct leaks in the attic or under the house cost you money. There are companies that can come out and do this. If you notice that you get good air flow to all rooms but one, you might want to check to see if that duct is still connected. It's a good idea to get the ducts checked after you've had your roof done, or other cases when non-ac contractors have been crawling around your attic (exterminators...cable guys...etc.). things can get pulled out and this can prevent air flow. If your ducts are leaking too much, it's probably a good idea to replace them. It doesn't make sense to cool your attic. 18. Run the AC thermostat set on “AUTO”, never on FAN. The fan is part of the unit that keeps air moving. However, it doesn't actually cool or draw any moisture for the air. So, in circulating air, the temperature isn't changing and you're using a considerable amount of energy. If you want to feel like air is still moving, the best solution is to use a small, portable fan. 19. Keep up the habit of turning off lights as you leave a room, especially in summer. Lights add a lot of heat to the room. 99% of a light’s energy use is converted to heat, 1% to light. Use only as much light as you need. 20. Call the City’s Energy Services office and schedule a free home energy audit. Your energy auditor will have seen all of the 105 situations described in this book, and more. Let us bring that experience to your residence and put it to use. There are also companies in California that do energy audits. They can be found on the energystar.gov website and range in price and services. This can be a good idea, but it can be pretty pricey, so I would suggest only doing so if you're really having energy problems.

The red color and bold added by Sinclair Air to provide more specific tips. Stay cool this summer AND save energy!