Dayton’s summers can be a challenge, especially when it comes to saving money on heating and cooling. But even when the days are at their muggiest, you can do something to cut cooling costs in your home. Try these strategies:
- Use a programmable thermostat. Odds are, you don’t need your A/C running all day. If your home is empty during work hours, and when you’re tucked in bed, you’ll need less cooling. Turning your thermostat back when you’re away from home or sleeping is a proven energy saver, and using a programmable thermostat means you don’t have to remember to do it.
- Run your ceiling fan when you’re in the room. This will net you two benefits: it’ll add a wind chill effect to your air, and it will mix cool air throughout the room instead of letting it all sink to the floor. That means you’ll experience more cooling with a higher thermostat set point.
- Check your home sealing and insulation—on windows, doors, walls and ducts. Insulation keeps heat out of places it’s not meant to be, which keeps cool temperatures in. Wall insulation keeps the outdoor heat outside, and duct insulation means that air from your A/C won’t warm up before it gets to your living areas.
- Use curtains, shades, shutters, window films or landscaping with green foliage to prevent solar heat from pouring in through your windows.
- Ask your local HVAC experts about high-efficiency A/C systems, as well as energy-saving improvements like variable speed fans and home zoning systems.
- Consider an upgrade to a tankless heating system. Not only will this eliminate standby energy loss, it’ll mean that less heat radiates into your home from a standing tank of hot water.
Call Ace Hardware Home Services, Inc. to learn more about how to cut cooling costs in your Dayton home, or to ask for a quote on any of the solutions offered here.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Dayton, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).
Credit/Copyright Attribution: “Michael D Brown/Shutterstock”
