The warmer climates are often associated with beautiful flowers, barbecues, and uncountable outdoor activities. However, the hotter days can quickly become uncomfortable if you’re not prepared with adequate cooling techniques. For most people, the air conditioner seems to be the perfect cooling solution. If left to operate for long hours, your AC can quickly double or triple your utility bills. While it’s still among the best cooling solutions, you might want to learn how to save energy while keeping your home cool. Here are some of the tips we thought you should try.
Close the Windows During the Day and Open Them at Night
Windows allow sunlight and infrared heat into your home during the day. To allow ventilation into your home and keep the heat out, consider opening your windows in the morning, evening, and night. Use blinds to keep the sun out during the day. You can also buy window coverings that block the sun’s rays and use light-colored curtains that don’t absorb heat.
Cook Outdoors
Cooking, particularly grilling, can make cooling your home more challenging during the hot season. The heat produced spreads to the adjacent rooms, which leads to more air conditioner usage. To avoid overworking your AC and fans, start cooking outdoors. Spring and summer evenings offer an excellent opportunity to enjoy barbecues while having a great time with family and friends. You can even use charcoal and save electricity.
Use a Programmable Thermostat
One of the biggest mistakes people make leading to high energy bills is setting their thermostats colder than normal when they first turn on the air conditioner. Colder settings won’t cool your home faster. You’re simply overworking it, which eventually leads to excessive cooling and high power usage. Using a programmable thermostat allows you to turn your air conditioner on and off depending on where you’re. Smart thermostat settings for spring use your location to know where you’re and determine whether to turn the AC on or off.
Use Fans and Other Natural Methods To Cool Your Home
If you have trees providing shade to your home, your home is likely cooler than those receiving direct sunlight. If you have shade on a section of the house, you can use fans to direct the cold air to the warmer rooms. Turn off the lights during the day, take advantage of natural light, and seal all window and door cracks to ensure no hot air or cold air is going in or out.
Service Your Air Conditioner
One of the best ways to keep your energy costs down is by servicing your air conditioner. In fact, it should be on your priority list during spring cleaning. Routine maintenance of your AC helps prolong its lifespan and reduce the chances of costly repairs. When the AC is functioning optimally, it cools your home effectively, cutting your energy bills by 15 percent. You can hire HVAC professionals to inspect, repair, and replace parts to ensure the unit uses as little energy as required.
Need to make your air conditioner more energy efficient in Saint Louis, MO? The Ashley Brothers Heating & Cooling can help you save energy and keep your AC running efficiently throughout the seasons. For tune-ups, repairs, installations, and replacements, call us on (314) 835-1770, and we will be happy to help.
Fall is in full swing, and that means the weather is only going to get colder from here on out. With this change in temperature comes a change in how you use your thermostat, as well as a change in your energy bill.
But staying warm doesn’t have to mean paying out the nose for heating costs! There are some things you can do to save money on your heating bill and still stay warm when the fall weather starts to dip into the chill zone.
Here are some fall money-saving tips, including how to adjust your thermostat setting to save money.
Program your thermostat
When nobody is home, do you really need to keep the house warm? Especially if everyone’s out during the day, there’s no reason to keep the heater running all the time. If you have a programmable thermostat, it might make sense for you to have it turned down during the day and have it kick on just before your family usually starts to arrive back home.
You can lower the thermostat by 10 or 15 degrees during the day, and the house will not get too cold. By doing this, you’ll save around 10 percent annually on heating costs, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. This works best if you have gas heating; if you have an electric heat pump, try lowering it less (about 3 to 4 degrees) for best results.
Smart thermostats
One type of programmable thermostat is a smart thermostat. While a programmable thermostat is nice, it requires you to actually program it yourself and change it if your schedule changes. What if the thermostat could do that for you? That’s where a smart thermostat comes into play.
These devices can be installed on your existing heating system to give you total control over your thermostat settings, even when you’re not home. They connect to the internet via your home’s wi-fi, and you can adjust the settings through an app on your phone from anywhere you have cellular or wi-fi connectivity.
Some models also have features that can sense when you’re home or away and automatically adjust the temperature accordingly. You may even be able to set it to turn on or off when you’re a certain distance from your home.
Bundle up
An old-school way to save money on your heating bill is to bundle up when it gets cold out. Wearing a nice, comfy sweater at home or cuddling with blankets on the couch can also allow you to turn the thermostat down a few degrees. This fall money-saving tip is not only frugal, but it can be a good excuse to get close to your partner for a movie night at home.
No matter how you choose to go about it, adjusting your thermostat setting to save money is a good idea. Not only will you be saving money, but you’ll also be using less energy, which is good for the Earth.
Everything in your home has a shelf life—even your heater. If you’ve been having trouble with your furnace for the past few years, it can be difficult to discern whether you should have it repaired or replaced.
Fortunately, there are some telltale signs it’s time to get a new heater. Replacing your heater might not be something you want to do, but it will likely be worth it in the end.
Here is how you’ll know when to replace your heater.
Age
This is the number one factor in deciding whether you should replace your heater. Each furnace has a lifespan of about 15 to 20 years.
If you’ve recently bought a house and are having trouble with the furnace, you can check the owner’s manual or the model number to determine how old it is and whether you need to replace it.
Soaring energy costs
Everyone wants to conserve energy, both for the good of the environment and for their checkbook. If you find that your energy costs are rising quickly over time, the problem might be your furnace.
An improperly-working furnace has to work harder than it normally would to achieve the same temperature, lowering its efficiency while raising your energy costs.
Loud noises
While your furnace should make some noise, certain sounds can be legitimate cause for concern. If your furnace is making popping, humming, rattling or screeching sounds, you’ll want to have it looked at to see whether you need to replace it or not.
Popping can be due to temperature changes; rattling could be equipment or ducts that are loose; and screeching may be a damaged component like a blower motor, belt or pulley.
Uneven heating
The rooms in your home should be heated uniformly—that is, the temperature should be just about the same in every part of the room, and each individual room should be the same temperature.
But if you notice that temperatures are fluctuating within each room and between each room, the issue could be caused by your furnace, and you may need a new one.
Visible wear and tear
A big conundrum with HVAC systems is you can’t physically see the problems with them. You can usually only hear or feel them.
But sometimes you can see signs of wear and tear on your furnace, such as rusting or cracking. These are obviously significant problems and can develop over long periods of time, serving as indications that it might be time to invest in a new furnace.
Numerous repairs
If you find yourself constantly having to call repair technicians to come to your home to fix your furnace, that could be a sign that it’s time to get a new heater.
You can look at your repair bills over the past two years—if you’ve called repair technicians more times than most, that’s probably a good indication that it’s time to start talking to experts about replacing your heater.
Call for a consultation today
Before you know it, winter will be upon us, which means it’s imperative that you have a properly-working furnace. To discuss your furnace, or if you want a checkup, give us a call at Ashley Brothers Heating & Cooling. We can cover anything from inspections and repairs to maintenance and installation—all with high-quality brands and top-notch service.
Unless you work in the HVAC industry, you probably don’t think much about the future of HVAC—but the new innovations that are emerging will be exciting for everyone. Whether you want to save money on your energy bills, reduce your carbon footprint or both, these new technologies are sure to make an impact.
Here are some of the most interesting HVAC developments to watch:
Ice-powered air conditioning: Why cool down hot air when you can start with cold air? One California-based company has created an air conditioner that freezes water inside a tank overnight. In the morning, when the air conditioner comes on, it blows over the ice to cool down the building. After the ice has melted, the traditional method of blowing air over cold condenser coils takes over.
Thermally-driven air conditioning: Some companies are starting to manufacture air conditioners powered by solar energy, wind and even natural gas. If your home is already outfitted with solar panels, this could be a great opportunity to harness renewable energy and stay cool at the same time.
Movement-activated air conditioners: Constantly cooling down your home—even when you’re not home—costs a lot of money. If you want to reduce your carbon footprint while staying comfortable, movement-activated air conditioners can help cut down on bills. You’ll be able to concentrate your air conditioning only in the rooms that are being used. No word on whether that means you’ll have to occasionally get up from your summertime Netflix binge, though.
Dual fuel heat pumps: If you have access to both gas and electricity, dual fuel heat pumps can help keep you warm all winter long—and save money in the process. The gas portion of the pump runs when temperatures are extra low, then switches to electricity as soon as the temperature is warm enough. This saves money by using the cheapest possible energy at any given time.
Computer-harnessed heat: Have you ever noticed how your laptops and other electronics get hot when they run? Some companies are trying to harness this heat to warm up homes and offices, as well as cool down server rooms.
Geothermal heat pumps: Geothermal heat pumps use the naturally occurring heat underground to heat both your home and your hot water supply, saving you money and energy.
Fully automated homes: With automation becoming increasingly popular, many experts predict that HVAC systems will become another part of our fully automated homes.
App-driven heating and cooling: You might be familiar with smart thermostats like Nest, which allow you to control your home’s heating and cooling from anywhere with an internet connection. Look for more companies to jump on the bandwagon—app-driven thermostats will definitely become more common in the future.
If you’re looking for the latest innovations in HVAC technology, we can help. Ashley Brothers Heating & Cooling is dedicated to bringing you the future of HVAC—or simply ensuring that your existing system runs well. Reach out to us today to get started with a maintenance appointment!
Working with your HVAC system is a good idea no matter the time of year, but the summertime is usually when people are the most grateful to have a system that’s running smoothly. Air conditioning is a modern convenience that can really improve our quality of life, and HVAC companies in St. Louis, MO are ready to do what needs to be done to make sure your system is in good working order. Believe it or not, the summertime can also be a great time to make sure your heating components will be up to the task when winter rolls around.
Check the airflow: Any HVAC system is going to be judged, first and foremost, by the amount and quality of the airflow it produces. HVAC companies in St. Louis, MO are unanimous in recommending that customers help keep the air moving smoothly by changing their air filters regularly—every one to two months, depending on system use, household size, pets and other factors.
Watch the landscaping: Exterior components of HVAC units are often situated in areas near landscaping, which can create a problem or two for homeowners. For starters, items like grass clippings and mulch can work their way into condenser units. Try to mitigate these concerns by giving outdoor HVAC equipment a wide berth when cutting the grass and by trimming flowers and shrubs near these units. This will help stop leaves and sticks from winding up inside and gumming up the works.
Reprogram the thermostat: When summer months change your family’s schedule, it’s time to take another look at the thermostat. Later sunsets can mean later bedtimes, for example, which means that you can tweak the settings on your thermostat accordingly to increase comfort and save money for your entire family. Summer activities and vacations can also keep you out of the house for extended periods, meaning there’s no reason to run the HVAC at normal levels.
Consider a dehumidifier: Even though air conditioning works by removing moisture from the air, you can supplement this with a dehumidifier. HVAC companies in St. Louis, MO agree that a dehumidifier can go a long way towards increasing the comfort of your family during the muggy summer months.
Get a tune-up: One final option you should consider is having your system tuned up by a qualified HVAC service technician from Ashley Brothers Heating & Cooling. Our team can bring a fresh set of eyes to any concern while also working to make sure your HVAC runs smoothly for the next year (and beyond).
There are a lot of DIY measures you can perform to prolong the life of your HVAC system and ensure it’s working at peak efficiency, but we recommend you also give Ashley Brothers Heating & Cooling a call so we can provide a professional perspective. Let us put our two decades of experience to work for you—call us today to schedule service!
