July 2, 2015
Have you been receiving insanely crazy electricity bills lately? Statistics from the US Department of Energy show that air conditioning and heating make up about 43% of utility bills. That is an average of $375 on your electricity bill due to the use of an air-conditioning unit. You cannot, however, do without an AC especially during summer when the temperatures are very high. Lowering your AC power consumption is an achievable goal if you know what contributes to the huge costs. Here are a few possible reasons why your electricity bill keeps on soaring:
You will be surprised to know that the difference between the indoor and outdoor temperatures affects not just your air conditioner but the subsequent electricity bill as well. If your house has poor insulation, then the cool air that you are enjoying will cost you more because most of it is escaping. Ensure that you have a home energy audit done by professionals who will give you suggestions on how you can improve the insulation. Once that has been rectified, your electricity bill will see a decline.
Turning your air conditioner’s thermostat switch on is costly. Always ensure that the switch is off. You can invest in a programmable thermostat as an alternative which allows you to set the temperature to lower degrees whenever you are not at home and higher degrees whenever you are in. This will help to cut down on your electricity bill. Experts say that using a programmable thermostat coupled with energy savings during winter can save you up to $150 off your electricity bills annually.
Consider checking the ducts for torn insulation, partial blockages, disconnects, and holes. When there is a fault in the ducts, cool air does not move to the rooms in your home as efficiently as it should no matter how well your air conditioner may be working. This means that you are actually paying for air that is escaping, air that you never actually feel inside your house. Enlisting the services of professionals to get the ducts checked and fixed on a regular basis improves efficiency. In most cases, they will check the system for any mechanical faults and fix them to ensure optimal performance while saving on energy.
Have you been postponing the routine maintenance of your air conditioning system? This may be the reason why you are paying huge electricity bills since the unit is running inefficiently due to a lack of well-needed servicing. When you do not service your air conditioner regularly, the overall performance of the unit is affected and this manifests itself in higher than normal electricity bills.
Routine maintenance is also important when it comes to dealing with issues that need fixing at an early stage. Waiting till it is too late will mean greater expenses for you. Get an expert to diagnose and fix any inefficiencies your air conditioner may have.
Running an old air conditioning unit can be quite costly. This is because its efficiency reduces over time. The best thing to do would be to replace the aged unit. Although replacing it may seem to be a hefty investment, it will considerably lower your electricity bills due to a more energy-efficient operation.
You can manage the ridiculously high-power consumption of your conditioning unit by taking into account the numerous factors discussed above and take the necessary actions. This will result in huge savings which invariably translates into lower electricity bills.