Tips for Summer Energy Savings - Written by Experts

Rinaldi’s Top Tips For Summer Energy Savings

Jul 21, 2011
outside-of-home

Most homeowners experience rising energy costs in the summer, primarily because the heat outside forces the near-constant use of your air conditioning. If you don’t want your utility bills to skyrocket out of control, you’ll need to trim down your energy consumption in other ways. Fortunately, there are plenty of summertime energy-savings tips you can use as part of your conservation strategy.

One of the most important things you can do is to use your major appliances judiciously, especially if your local power company has a sliding-rate schedule that charges you more for electricity used during peak periods. Run your dishwasher in the evenings and only when it’s full, and disable its drying cycle so your dishes air-dry. Wash your clothes in cold water, and dry them on a clothesline rather than using your dryer.

If you have a pool, you can save energy by trimming back the frequency of your pool filter’s automatic cleaning cycles. Use your pool filter only during off-peak hours, and reduce the sweep cycle by running it every five hours instead of every four hours, which is the typical default setting.

Make a conscientious effort not to waste energy: If you’re not using your lights, turn them off. Many appliances still drain energy when they’re plugged in, even if they’re turned off, so unplugging electronic devices and their chargers when they’re not needed can also lead to energy savings. Keeping your fridge full also reduces energy wastage: it allows your fridge to work less hard at keeping its interior temperature cool.

Finally, give your air conditioner a break: Inch your thermostat up a degree or two, and use ceiling fans to help your home feel cooler. Investing in a good ceiling fan can result in some serious energy savings over the long cooling season we experience here in Florida, allowing you to raise your thermostat by as much as four degrees Fahrenheit without experiencing any change in your indoor comfort level.

At Rinaldi’s Air Conditioning, we’re happy to help customers maximize energy savings. If you have any further questions, need service or want energy-saving products and accessories, please contact us.

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

Rinaldi’s services Orlando, Florida and the surrounding areas. To get started, check out our website or see our current specials.