A Whole-Home Approach To Lowering Your Energy Bills

A Whole-Home Approach To Lowering Your Energy Bills

Proper maintenance of your heating and cooling system and cutting down on energy usage are the primary components to saving on your energy bills. During the heating season, there are several more things you can do around your home to cut energy bills.

• Open curtains, blinds and shades to allow warm solar energy into the home.
• Repair or replace damaged windows.
• Install a programmable thermostat and set it at 70 degrees or lower.
• Reduce the thermostat setting by at least 10 degrees lower during the time you are not at home or sleeping.
• Run ceiling fans clockwise to circulate air.
• Clean baseboard heaters, air registers or radiators.
• Don’t block heat sources.
• Seal off unused rooms.
• Ensure that your attic is properly ventilated.
• Change your furnace filters regularly.
• Remove all window or wall air conditioners.
• Use properly-sized exhaust fans in kitchens and bathrooms.

During warmer months, the key to keeping your home cool is to keep the heat outside. Solar energy produces much of the heat that enters your home. To reduce energy bills during warmer months, you can do the following:

• Cover south- and west-facing windows during the day
• Keep doors and windows closed during the daylight hours.
• Open windows on cool, low-humidity nights.
• Use minimal interior lighting.
• Buy compact fluorescent bulbs rather than incandescent bulbs.
• Turn off or unplug electronic equipment that is not in use.
• Use a ceiling fan to increase air circulation, running it counter clockwise.
• Install a programmable thermostat, and set it at 78 degrees.
• Turn the thermostat up at least 10 degrees higher when you’re away or sleeping
• Seal off unused rooms.
• Ensure that your attic is properly ventilated.
• Vent your dryer outdoors.
• Wash clothes in cold water.

For more expert advice about using a whole-home approach to save on energy bills, and for other issues related to home comfort, please feel free to contact Air-Tro, Inc. We’ve been serving the area in and around Pasadena, California, for nearly three decades.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about lowering energy bills and other HVAC topics, visit our website.

Air-Tro Inc. services the greater Los Angeles area as well as the metro areas of Riverside and San Bernardino County.