As temperatures soar, so does your home’s power consumption. And when you’re consuming more power, it’s likely that your neighbors are too — increasing the risk of a community-wide brownout or blackout. Although you can’t control what your neighbors do, you can lower your own summertime energy consumption and serve as a model. Your neighbors might follow your example once they see your lower energy bills. Consider following these easy-to-implement steps to combat high home energy bills.

• Block the heat coming in. Install shades or blackout drapes over your windows, and make sure they are closed during the hottest hours of the day. Check the windows for air leaks, and seal wherever you detect a leak.
• Run your fan and your air conditioner together. Because the fan creates a wind-chill effect — keeping you more comfortable — you can turn the thermostat on your air conditioner up and lower your overall cooling costs.
• At night, if temperatures permit, run only the air conditioner fan.
• If you forgot to have your air conditioner serviced last spring, don’t assume that your unit will make it through the rest of this season. Have your unit serviced now, because it’s working very hard. Your technician should check the refrigerant and recharge it if necessary. He will check for and fix any leaks and clean the components and connections.
• Check and change the filter in your air conditioner as needed. A dirty filter forces your air conditioner to work harder than it should, and the result is a higher utility bill.
• Change your habits. Avoid using your range as much as possible. Use the microwave instead. Instead of hand-washing your dishes, fill up your dishwasher and use it. Try line-drying your clothes instead of using the dryer. If you have to use the dryer, do so only when you have a full load. Unplug appliances you aren’t using. They’re consuming energy even if they’re not on.

Have questions about lowering your high energy bills? Give the experts at All Year Heating and Air in Sacramento a call today.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.