March 20 is officially the first day of spring—and International Earth Day, too. So with that in mind, we hope you enjoy this short list of easy energy tips to help you save this season.
- Get your system serviced. Spring is the perfect time to have a qualified heating and cooling specialist come out for an A/C tune-up. Regular maintenance will help prevent unexpected breakdowns and maintain your system’s efficiency—both of which will save you money. Many heating and cooling specialists run A/C tune-up deals this time of year, depending on your location, so be sure to shop around a little.
- Cut the hot water back. Our water heaters account for a large part of our modern-day home energy use—second just behind heating and cooling systems. So, turning our hot water heater dials back a little as the temperatures in our homes (and pipes) warms up just makes sense. Experts recommend setting them to about 110 degrees in warmer weather—they usually come factory set at 120 degrees, and many homeowners don’t know they can turn them down with a simple roll of a dial. Cutting back the temperatures by about 10 degrees can knock 5% off your water heater’s energy use.
- Adjust your fans. As the weather gets warmer, set your ceiling fans to spin counterclockwise so that cool air gets pushed toward the floor. Most fans have a small button or switch on the fan blade housing that lets you adjust direction. The cooling effect will make it easier to run your A/C system less, which will save you a little money and help prolong the life of your system.
- Treat your windows. Other than making sure your windows (and doors) are sealed around the edges with weather stripping or caulk, consider ways you can keep the sun from streaming into your home during the hottest parts of the day. One simple solution is to keep blinds and curtains closed when no one’s home. But lots of companies make special film and blinds to help let sunlight in while minimizing the heat it also brings. Or you could try insulated curtains. These help block heat and noise and keep cool air in.
- Try a smart thermostat. Programmable thermostats such as the Nest Learning Thermostat™ are doing a lot to help save homeowners money—in any time of year. The Nest is great because it remembers your preferences then programs itself according to your schedule. It can be controlled from anywhere with a smartphone, laptop or tablet. And the Nest can cut your heating and cooling by up to 15%.
At Veteran Energy, we take pride in helping our customers. And we hope these easy energy tips do just that. Thank you for helping Support Our Heroes.
