When July hits, it’s hot. If you’re in the Mid-Atlantic or Northeast, June might have been mild with some cool nights-–but July’s stifling heat can make it tough to turn off the AC at all. So, what’s a person to do if they want to save energy and money, but it’s hot as all get out? There are a few things you can do, whether it’s planning a HVAC temp strategy, thinking about HVAC maintenance, or adding a few non-HVAC cooling tricks.
Read on to find out how you can manage the heat while saving some energy:
Adjusting the temperature: home & away
During the hottest months, you can save energy by having a game plan for when you’re home and when you’re away. It might take some experimentation to find the temperature you can handle, but with ceiling fans and closed blinds, you might find that you can keep the HVAC temp higher without reducing your comfort level. Once you know how warm you can keep it while you’re around, figuring out temps for short-term and long-term periods away from your house is the next step.
If you’re going to be away for the entire day, that’s not long enough to turn the entire system off (in terms of saving energy) because of the strain and costs it takes to get the temperature back to comfortable levels for the evening and morning. If you’ll be gone all day, set the thermostat (or better yet, program a programmable thermostat!) to 78-80 degrees.
Depending on how hot it’s going to be when you’re away for an extended period, you can consider turning off your AC unit completely or turning it up to just under the “high” forecasted for days away. While turning off your AC unit completely will save energy, experts suggest that it’s better for homes in extremely hot and humid areas to keep the AC on. Some reasons for this are the strain on your AC to suck all the humidity back out of the air when you return and because some homes can be damaged by intense humidity.
Generally, one to two days away should mean your system is on and the HVAC temp is set high. If it’s a week or two, you might opt to turn off the unit completely.
DIY HVAC maintenance
There are also a few routine maintenance activities you can do yourself to prevent having to resort to costly HVAC repairs (or find yourself in “replace HVAC” territory). These also save on energy and costs. These include:
- Clean your vents
- Clean or replace your air filters
- Make sure the AC unit outside is clean and in a shady spot (but not obstructed at all!)
- Check on your insulation, specifically in your attic and around ductwork
By maintaining your HVAC system and all its parts on your own, you increase its ability to heat and cool your home while saving energy. For maintenance you can’t do on your own– professional ductwork cleaning or other internal cleaning– make sure a professional is brought in at least once a year or every two years!
Tricks to keep the heat out
There are many things you can do besides adjusting your HVAC temp to help take the pressure off your HVAC system. These include:
- Window treatments
Putting up blackout curtains–thick curtains or blinds that keep the sunlight out–can keep the heat out, too. White curtains specifically work best to deflect the sun, preventing direct sunlight from coming through your windows and heating up your house.
- Fans (going counterclockwise)
Ceiling fans can work wonders, keeping you comfortable while the HVAC temp is set to up to four degrees hotter than normal! While fans don’t cool the room or lower the temperature, the air movement does contribute to you feeling cooler. But to make sure it’s pushing the air downward, set your ceiling fan blades to move counterclockwise.
- Smart cooking practices
If you have a grill or other means of cooking outside, this is one way to keep the incredible heat from appliances from heating up your house and combatting your HVAC system in the cooling process. If you can’t cook outside, using your cooking appliances in the evening after the sun goes down when things are a bit cooler is a good compromise. Being smart about how these major heat-producing appliances make your HVAC system work harder can help you save energy.
These are just three tips that can help lessen the strain on your HVAC system and are some of the best ways to save energy.
HVAC repair or replace HVAC
We always suggest that you get your HVAC checked before peak seasons to ensure you’re not setting yourself up to pay extra in energy bills. If it’s been a while since you’ve had any HVAC repairs, you might notice that you’re doing everything right: keeping HVAC temp set high, closing the blinds, and grilling outside as often as possible, but what if your summertime costs are staying the same or even increasing?
In this case, you might need a HVAC repair to make sure your HVAC system is working properly.
If your HVAC system has needed multiple repairs and also is toward the end of its lifespan of 15 to 20 years, your Google search might be looking less like “HVAC repair” and more like “replace HVAC.” But it’s not all bad news. If you must replace your HVAC system, you’ll find that newer systems are far more efficient. And replacing a HVAC system also gives you an opportunity to replace your thermostat with a smart thermostat, which can help with costs through the ability to schedule your house’s HVAC temps to suit your lifestyle.
Call us
At Exxel Mechanical Services, our priority is safety and comfort for you and your family, delivered through our expertise and attention to detail. We serve a wide area of Central MD from our home base in Mount Airy, including Frederick, Westminster, Owings Mills, and Ellicott City.
Whether a mechanical issue is causing high energy bills, or you just need a tune-up, call us today at (443) 821-1040 or send us an email at bob@exxelmechanical.com. It would be our pleasure to see how we can help you.
