Spring Break
Cost-efficient ways to beat the summer heat
Zach Wingerter
Issue date: 6/23/05 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
With temperatures flirting with triple-digits lately, it can be difficult and costly to keep your house or apartment at a comfortable temperature. Ameren offers the following tips for cost-effectively keeping cool when you're not at school:
Keep your air conditioner in the shade. In order to cool your space efficiently, it must be cool itself. If there's no way to avoid having it in the sun, you can build a wood shade screen for it as long as you don't block the airflow.
If using central air, cool only the rooms you use. Don't close all your vents though - closing too many vents can actually reduce operating efficiency.
Turn the thermostat up when leaving the house for several days.
Don't switch your air conditioner to a colder setting when turning it on. Moving the thermostat up and down wastes energy and money. Turning the thermostat to an extreme doesn't cool your space any quicker, either; it just makes the system work harder.
Keep the thermostat as high as possible. "The recommended energy efficient summer temperature is 78 degrees Fahrenheit," according to Ameren. You can save 2 percent off your bill for every degree you raise your thermostat in the summer.
Don't keep appliances that give off heat, such as lamps, near the thermostat. That will affect the accuracy of the instrument that senses temperature.
Gently blow out any dust or lint that may have settled in your thermostat. It is a delicate instrument that must be cleaned gently.
Cleaning your air conditioner's coils will save energy and efficiency. If they are dusty or dirty, use a vacuum to suck the dirt off. If the vacuum's attachments won't fit between the coils, reverse the airflow to blow the dirt away instead.
Check your filter. If you cannot easily see light through the filter, a new filter is necessary and will help your air conditioner use up to 5 percent less energy.
Keep shades and curtains closed on hot days.
Bathroom and kitchen exhaust fans used sporadically will take the humidity burden off your air conditioner.
When looking to purchase central air conditioners or window units, check the Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio number. The higher the SEER, the better, and a SEER of 12.0 or better is considered efficient.
For homes without air conditioning, Ameren suggests avoiding activities that would add heat and humidity to your home. Positioning fans to blow air out of the house during daylight hours and pulling cooler air in at nighttime will help as well.
Keep your air conditioner in the shade. In order to cool your space efficiently, it must be cool itself. If there's no way to avoid having it in the sun, you can build a wood shade screen for it as long as you don't block the airflow.
If using central air, cool only the rooms you use. Don't close all your vents though - closing too many vents can actually reduce operating efficiency.
Turn the thermostat up when leaving the house for several days.
Don't switch your air conditioner to a colder setting when turning it on. Moving the thermostat up and down wastes energy and money. Turning the thermostat to an extreme doesn't cool your space any quicker, either; it just makes the system work harder.
Keep the thermostat as high as possible. "The recommended energy efficient summer temperature is 78 degrees Fahrenheit," according to Ameren. You can save 2 percent off your bill for every degree you raise your thermostat in the summer.
Don't keep appliances that give off heat, such as lamps, near the thermostat. That will affect the accuracy of the instrument that senses temperature.
Gently blow out any dust or lint that may have settled in your thermostat. It is a delicate instrument that must be cleaned gently.
Cleaning your air conditioner's coils will save energy and efficiency. If they are dusty or dirty, use a vacuum to suck the dirt off. If the vacuum's attachments won't fit between the coils, reverse the airflow to blow the dirt away instead.
Check your filter. If you cannot easily see light through the filter, a new filter is necessary and will help your air conditioner use up to 5 percent less energy.
Keep shades and curtains closed on hot days.
Bathroom and kitchen exhaust fans used sporadically will take the humidity burden off your air conditioner.
When looking to purchase central air conditioners or window units, check the Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio number. The higher the SEER, the better, and a SEER of 12.0 or better is considered efficient.
For homes without air conditioning, Ameren suggests avoiding activities that would add heat and humidity to your home. Positioning fans to blow air out of the house during daylight hours and pulling cooler air in at nighttime will help as well.
