Three Unexpected Ways to Save Money on Energy During Summer

When summer cranks up the heat, the electric company cranks up your energy bill. Not that the prices increase, but rather your electrical consumption does. Air conditioning uses a lot of energy, and your appliances often need to work even harder to do their jobs and keep you comfortable. All of that adds up rather quickly, leading to extensive and expensive energy bills.

But what if we told you saving money may be easier than you thought, and that making a few unexpected changes could have a major impact on how much you spend to keep your home powered? Check out our blog to learn about three ways that you can save this season and why you might not have expected that to be the case.

Install a Whole-Home Ventilation Fan

Well over half of the energy that an average home uses each year is dedicated to heating and cooling, and the majority of that energy typically goes toward air conditioning during the long and brutal summer season here in Georgia. While running the air conditioner is unavoidable (particularly during periods of high humidity), there are times where you can substitute your air conditioner for the clean, crisp, and energy-efficient alternative of cool summer air.

A whole-home ventilation fan is a fan that pulls air into your home through open windows or doors and then ventilates it back outside through a duct located in your attic. This creates an ongoing current of air that can make your home feel dramatically cooler than it would otherwise. These systems use a tiny fraction of the energy that a typical air conditioner system uses, making them a great alternative. Plus, they also completely replace all of the air in your home with fresh air from outside, and that means a dramatic improvement in indoor air quality as well!

Run Your Ceiling Fans

Ceiling fans operate on a similar principle to a whole-home fan system—they create moving air that feels cooler than it would otherwise. By running fans in rooms you are using instead of running your air conditioner, you’ll stay cooler in a room that doesn’t need to be air conditioned. This is why we strongly advise installing and utilizing a ceiling fan in rooms you use frequently, such as your living spaces and bedrooms.

Don’t have a ceiling fan installed in a bedroom? Call a local electrician! With tons of different ceiling fans available on the market, they can guide you through the process of selecting the right kind of fan for your needs and assist you with installation. Properly installing a fan does require a good amount of experience and skill, but a pro makes this simple and straightforward. They can even set up proper switches so you can control your fan as you see fit.

Install a Sensing Thermostat

Thermostats are far smarter today than they ever were before. Today’s thermostats take better control over your heating and cooling system by utilizing data from a number of different sources to properly cool your home and save you energy in the process. By adjusting cycle times, cycle frequency, chosen temperature, and even factoring in real-time weather data for your area, these systems can automatically adjust themselves to offer you greater energy efficiency when you do need to run your air conditioner this summer.

Dollar for dollar, a smart thermostat is one of the best investments you can make toward improving your energy bills. With even some of the most advanced thermostats coming in under the $500 mark, these systems typically pay for themselves in savings in as little as a year or two. Plus they offer other great features like Wi-Fi connectivity that allows you to control them with your voice through a smart speaker or with the touch of a button on your phone.