In the US southwest, the months of May-October can stay pretty hot. Arizona’s average daily temperature in July is about 106 degrees. With that kind of heat, you’re likely using your air conditioner on a 24-7 basis through the summer.
When you use your air conditioner that much, it puts pressure on your summer spending on energy and utilities. But you can look at some helpful tips to reduce your usage on home appliances throughout the summer, and keep your energy costs low.
Some enterprising homeowners, like this couple in the Washington DC area, are experimenting with ‘net-zero’ homes.
A net-zero home is generally a newly built structure that benefits from adding super insulation on spaces in the home that don’t require much to heat or cool. On top of that is placed geothermal systems, solar panels and more to make these home operate as efficiently from an energy perspective as possible.
Not everyone might have the resources to gut renovate a home to create a net-zero home, but there are steps that homeowners can take to make their homes more energy efficient all year round. Developing a plan for your home smart energy use could help you save money, reduce the use of natural energy resources, and keep a little more spending money in your pocket.
Summers in Arizona are hot, there’s no way to get around that. But you can make sure that you’re prepared for the heat. Try these ideas for a smarter way to budget for summer:
- Call in an expert and do an energy audit in your home. Find out which parts of the house are hotter than others. Find out where hot air is leaking into your home. Then work to eliminate those inefficiencies.
- Set the A/C thermostat a little higher. When it’s 106 degrees outside, you probably don’t need the air conditioner set to 69 degrees. The S. Energy Department recommendssetting you’re A/C thermostat to 78 degrees or even higher. Doing so can save homeowners between 6-18 percent on summer cooling bills.
- If you live alone, and are headed out for the day, feel free to lift that thermostat even higher. Your home, condo or apartment will survive in 80-85 degrees while you’re away. Of course, if you have children, pets or others in the home, keep the air conditioner temperature at a comfortable level.
- Keep the hot southwest sunshine out of your windows. Use window awnings or other types of window shades and blinds to block the sun’s rays from heating up the inside of your home. Reports show that window shades can lower summer heat by about 65% on south-facing windows and up to nearly 80% on west-facing windows.
Use these money and energy-savings tips to keep your home cool in the summer. And if you need appliance parts for any broken appliances, contact the pros at Appliance Parts Company. We do repairs and replacements of parts for all your home appliances to help you save money and lower your energy costs.
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