Is there something you can do to lessen the impact on your wallet of the rising costs of home cooling?
Cutting summer energy costs and consumption in homes and businesses alike starts with a “back-to-the-basics” approach.
Here are seven great summer energy saving tips on how to cut your energy costs this summer, compliments of Mirage Screens.
1. Don’t forget to use the fan.
Many people think that if they have air conditioning they don’t need fans, and a surprising number of households simply don’t have fans at all. Fans not only use less energy than air conditioners but when ceiling fans are combined with air conditioning, they enable you to raise the thermostat on air conditioners and cut those AC costs.
Fan Do’s and Don’ts worth noting:
- Don’t forget to turn the fans off when the room is unoccupied.
- Do purchase certified ENERGY STAR energy saving fans.
2. Open the windows and doors when you can.
Have you ever had the experience of taking an evening stroll on a cooling summer’s night and hearing your neighbor’s air conditioner working overtime?
Pay attention to maximizing cooling cross-ventilation by opening windows and doors during non-peak heat hours and turning that wallet draining AC system off!
A common mistake that many homeowners of newer homes make with French Doors (and similar out swing or in-swing window and door designs) is in thinking that their home’s windows and doors can’t be screened. These homeowners keep all their doors and windows closed to keep out bugs while running their expensive AC units. In reality, all home windows and doors can stay open if one uses either manual or motorized retractable window screens and screen doors.
Locate a Mirage Retractable Screen Door Dealer who is experienced in optimizing natural cross-ventilation with the use of non-traditional screen systems like retractable door screens and retractable window screens.
3. Install programmable thermostats.
Have you ever run out the door to work and forget to turn off the air conditioning system?
Given the pace of modern life, this has probably happened more than once in your home. If you make a habit of it, you are likely spending money on cooling energy that you don’t need to.
Installing and using programmable thermostats can spare you this unnecessary expense AND keep your home at a more comfortable even temperature.
Better yet, an innovative, energy-minded home improvement strategy for summer that is becoming more popular is the use of large opening solar screens installed on the outside of the house.
Motorized retractable screens for large openings can be installed with features like a sun sensor or timer that activates the screen to roll down at peak sun hours to keep heat from entering the house. You can even tie these motorized large screen systems in with the programmable thermostats used for your air conditioner, to truly optimize summer energy controls.
4. Barbecue outside rather than heating up your kitchen with the stove.
Barbecuing is not only about enhancing summer cuisine — operating one in the great outdoors doesn’t heat up your home, saving you AC costs.
5. Summerize your fireplace.
Did you know that homes with fireplaces could use up to 30% more energy than homes without fireplaces?
Make sure that the pilot light is turned off of your gas fireplace during summer months or ANY time when it is not being used regularly.
You can also save on energy costs by using a fireplace plug or draft stopper of some kind. The fireplace plug or draft stopper is designed to reduce home heating or cooling energy loss up the chimney when the fireplace is not in use.
6. Be laundry smart.
There are several ways you can save energy while doing laundry in your home:
- Switch to cold water when doing laundry because 85 – 90% of the energy used to wash your clothes is used to heat the water.
- Always wash full loads.
- If you are a choosing a washer, always select a front loading model that will save water AND energy. Depending on the model, you can achieve up to 50% savings in energy and 40% savings in water.
- Hang towels and other laundry on a clothesline to dry when possible.
7. Seek low-cost energy improvements for the bathroom.
If you install water-saving showerheads in each bathroom, you can cut water consumption by up to 70%, which also saves on the heat energy needed to heat water for bathing.
De-humidistats connected to the bathroom fans not only control moisture, but they also cut energy costs because dry air heats more easily than moist air.
For more summer energy saving tips including how the Mirage Retractable Screen System can naturally cool your home, contact one of our retractable screen dealers using this Find a Dealer link.