One of the savings that families pay special attention to in the summer is electricity. In hot weather, the need to use cooling devices in households is increasing. However, there are many power-consuming devices that are “gouging” your finances during the summer months, most likely you are not aware. Here are the best summer electricity-saving tips to help you reduce your electricity bill burden.
1. Filter replacement
Whether you live in a home with central air conditioning or use a home air conditioner, you need to make sure the filter is clean regularly, especially when pets are in the house.
Air filters are one of the most important parts of the air conditioning system. When it is clogged with dirt and pollutants, the whole system has to work harder and less efficiently to create the cold airflow. Especially cat or dog fur is a threat to the “health” of the whole system.
Weak conditioning means you will increase your use to combat the heat, making your electricity bills just keep rising. The extra cost is probably more than the purchase price of a few new filters. It is recommended to switch the filter every three months
If it takes too long to replace, it will even cause the air conditioning system to fail and the money to repair or replace it will consume more of your budget.
2. Clean the system
You need to clean the air conditioner at least once a year to keep the system running smoothly.
Nearly half a year of operating in hot weather means it has accumulated quite a lot of dirt. When you don’t tend to maintain all the parts along with vents in your home, you have prevented the system from running the most efficiently.
This also increases the number of electricity bills. If possible, hire a technician to clean and test your system properly. They are also well equipped to avoid breathing in dirt and mold. This is also a way to keep your health and home in the best condition and save more on electricity. In addition, when paying electricity bills, customers should use coupons, deals, promo codes, … to cut down on electricity money costs.
3. Using the refrigerator properly is an energy-efficient way
Position the cupboard at least 10 cm from the wall. Make sure the temperature inside the cabinet ranges from 3-6 degrees and minus 15 – minus 18 degrees Celsius with freezing mode.
Especially limiting opening fridges on these days because each time the refrigerator opens, there is a hot airflow that makes them have to rebalance the set temperature. This causes more power consumption. Besides using good electronic products are the best investments you can make for your family in saving electricity. Especially on the 4th of July, companies and manufacturers will give you much better deals and sales.
4. Turn off the air conditioner, turn on the fan
Fans will help you cut down on utility costs during the summer, especially overhead fans. Instead of running the air conditioner continuously, use fans to circulate air in the rooms, and create a cool breeze for the whole house.
When the weather is not too hot, consider opening windows and turning on fans. If you clean the fan case, there are other fans that continue to work to keep the indoor air cooler.
For some people who can’t afford to use air conditioning, fans are the only option. You can invest in a tornado fan to provide strong winds in any direction in the room and better airflow from the open windows.
Do not forget that most fans are powered by electricity. If you turn on too much at once, your electricity bill won’t improve much.
5. Prevent cold air from escaping
One of the problems that consume a lot of energy is letting air out. At that time, it will not be able to cool your room effectively, meaning that you are running the air conditioner for longer than necessary and paying more.
Therefore, you need to address those gaps in your home. Check for possible locations as many places are not visible to the naked eye in the first place.
Start from clear areas like around doors and windows to baseboards, power outlets to make sure no cold air is coming out. Make sure to close the door and fill in where needed. Troubleshooting can save you about 25-30% of your electricity bill.
6.Thermostat settings
Many times you just want to have warm or cold air as soon as you step into the house to avoid the harsh weather, you will tend to have the air conditioner running indoors when you are out. This is especially true when you have pets or the elderly live with you.
However, it can clearly impose a financial burden on you. Consider installing a pre-programmable thermostat that helps you set up and turn on / off the system at specific times of the day.
Many devices can sense room temperature and adjust themselves to a certain temperature. Thus, your home still creates a sense of comfort without causing waste.
7.Unplug
We live in a technology-obsessed culture, and most likely your home has lots of entertainment systems with big and small appliances in action. The problem here is to turn them off when they are not being used to save energy. However, in many cases, turning off that device does not mean it stops consuming electricity.
Most of the electronic devices that we use every day go into standby mode when we turn them off and still some continue to work. Although the amount is less than half when used, it is obvious that electricity is being consumed.
If you keep it long enough, your electricity bill can be significantly affected. The worst thing is that you don’t know about this issue because you think you turned everything off.
There are some devices that need to turn on 24/7 like refrigerators. Also, unplug all plugs instead of just turning it off when not in use. Easier, you can simply turn on and off the circuit breaker to power all devices at once instead of unplugging and plugging everything back into each wall outlet every time you use it.
8.Cook outside the kitchen
Your home is hot enough to turn on the air conditioner for a few hours and now is the time to make dinner. Take advantage of cooking equipment that doesn’t require heat, such as an oven or induction hob.
Running an oven in the kitchen can automatically increase the room temperature to at least 2-4 degrees depending on the time you use, but it is still better than turning on the gas stove with a considerable amount of heat.
You can sometimes change to healthy foods good taste for the whole family with lots of salads, vegetables, sandwiches or noodles. Summer is especially suitable for barbecuing outdoors after sunset and the air becomes cooler.
9. Wash clothes in cold water
Perhaps you have never thought of it, but choosing hot or cold water when washing clothes can be the difference between spending and saving on your electricity bill.
Heating water in a washing machine consumes a lot of energy consumed on a part of the machine, while cold water helps reduce nearly 90% of energy use. Not to mention, cold water is better for your clothes because of fading restrictions when using hot water.
Coldwater can sometimes save you time from washing as you can throw things in the same wash without worrying about color fading and fading into white clothes.
At the same time should not use the dryer. Work hard to hang everything on the clothesline to help the summer air dry.
10. Take advantage of the shade
One way to reduce indoor heat in the summer is to use the shade from surrounding trees. You might consider a long-term solution that is planting trees to take advantage of this.
It will help you use less energy as the house will naturally cool. It may take a little longer to see the benefits, but it certainly works. Of course, this is insignificant for condominiums.
In fact, summer is always a difficult time to save electricity. But each advice will help you gradually save 10 – 30% of your electricity bill. When done regularly, you will really take a leap in electricity costs and not “break” your budget during the summer just to be cooler.