Experts Say 78 Degrees
One thing is certain, electricity isn’t getting any cheaper and one of the best ways to reduce your energy costs is to set the thermostat in your home 78 degrees according to the US Department of Energy.
Of course not everyone is going to be comfortable at that temperature, so here’s a easy alternative, turn up your thermostat when you go to work and set the thermostat 7 to 10 degrees higher than you normally do when you are home. This simple measure could save you as much as 10 percent on your electric bill.
It can be easy to forget to do this every day so installing a programmable thermostat is well worth the investment. These wonderful pieces of technology will automatically raise the temp while you’re away and cool things down right before you get home.
Ashley Heating, Air and Water offers a wide variety of programmable thermostats including our state-of-the-art Trane ComfortLink Thermostats that work with a network of sensors to monitor and optimize the humidity and temperature in your home. ComfortLink Thermostats are also Nexia enabled so that you can remotely monitor and control hundreds of devices such as lights, door locks, garage doors and of course your home HVAC system.
We also advise implementing these simple steps to improve the comfort and livability in your home:
• Using ceiling fans can make a room feel up to 4 degrees cooler, which means you can crank up the thermostat a few degrees to save money.
• Closing the shades and blinds to block the sun does absolute wonders to cool things down inside your home.
• Here in Idaho temperatures often drop by, as much as 40 degrees at night so opening the windows to flush your home with cool night air is a real crowd pleaser and it helps reduce A/C run time to save energy.
• Attic fans…if you haven’t heard about attic fans give us a call today. Attic temperature can reach up to 160 degrees in the heat of the summer. Attic fans vent all that extreme heat to the outside air and this is especially important for home that have ductwork up the attic because that excessive heat.
• Last but not least, it’s always a good investment to perform some preseason maintenance of your cooling system. Regardless of your air conditioning systems age, proper maintenance will improve your systems performance and help prevent costly repairs.
•Avoid using heat-generating appliances like your stove, oven, and clothes dryer until after 8pm to avoid heating up an already hot house. Appliances like these can raise the internal temperature in your home up to 10 degrees.
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