5 Tips to Take the Heat off Your Summer Power Bill

Summer has arrived! And while many of us are looking forward to beach swims and backyard barbeques, successive days of scorching heat can wear down both our patience and our bank balance.

Between December and February, our air conditioner keeps us comfortable but can be a significant drain on our electricity when used constantly.

Practise our handy hints this summer and sidestep bill shock in March.

1. Keep Them Closed

You would be amazed how quickly sunlight coming through the windows can heat up your home.

Resist the urge to open up curtains and blinds when you wake up. Keeping windows, doors and blinds closed will keep the heat out. On a really warm day, I often find I don’t need to turn the unit on until the afternoon, if at all.

Don’t forget to keep lights off where you can because indoor lights can generate a lot of heat. It can certainly keep your home a little cooler.

2. Compromise (to a degree)

It can be tempting to crank the air conditioner up when you’re feeling the heat but do this consistently and you will literally pay the price for it.

Running your unit extremely cool can have a significant affect on your next bill.

Experts recommend running your unit at around 24-25 degrees. While it may take a little longer to cool the room down, you’ll definitely save yourself some cash in the long run.

Another hot tip? Resist the urge to turn the unit on until it reaches at least 30 degrees; following the other tips in this blog should help you with this.

3. Be a Fan of the Flow

In my opinion, fans are underrated. Most people don’t know how to make the most of them, so they’re often seen as the poor cousin of the air conditioner.

Fans are much more economical than air conditioners, costing roughly 3 cents per hour to run.

Here are a few tips to try.

• If you are running your fan overnight, open your windows a little so that the warm is let out and cool air in.
• Place a floor fan opposite a window to help the air circulate.
• If you must turn on the air-con, keep it low and run a fan to make the most of the air flow.
• On those really warm nights, run a little water on a cloth and place it on your head or on the back of your neck. With the fan on, this can really cool you down.

4. Discover Dry Mode

A lot of people aren’t aware of their unit’s dehumidifier mode, or that it could be saving them bucks.

This mode could certainly decrease your bill; I discovered a huge difference in last summer’s bill when I started using this button. It looks like a little water drop, if you’re wondering!

You will need to check your operating manual to see if your unit has a dry or dehumidify mode. It works so well because it removes air humidity, making it easier to cool and places less pressure on the air conditioner’s compressor.

Just be aware, it can take a little longer to cool down a room but will keep it cool once your preferred temperature is reached.

5. Maintenance is Important

For your unit to keep doing its part, you need to keep it in good working order.

You’ll need to clean out the filters at least once a season. Dirty filters can affect the effectiveness of your unit, as the system needs to work harder to get the air flowing.

You’ll need to check your manual for instructions on how to do this.

Want to leave it to the professionals? Give us a call.

A professional clean will make your unit more energy efficient and in peak condition when you need it most. This is how you could benefit from a professional service.

• We can reduce your unit’s energy usage by up to 22%.
• Our service can increase cooling power by up to 4 degrees.
• The technician will remove the mould, dirt and contaminants from your unit to improve air flow, so that it works much more effectively.

Note: Electrodry Air Conditioning Services are not currently available in NSW.