The temperature is really heating up this summer. Those of us that a fortunate to have a central air system can stay comfortably indoors without breaking a sweat. However, blasting the AC all the time can have dramatic effects on our electricity bills. A quick tip that could save upwards of 30% on your AC electric bill is have a programmable thermostat installed. The larger your home the more significant your savings can be.
This is a very simple do it yourself project. The cost of a programmable thermostat ranges from $20-40, but the savings can be significant. The savings come by setting the temperature a few degrees warming when you're out of the house, say between the hours of 9 am-5 pm and while you're asleep say between 11 am to 7 am. This dramatically cuts down the time your AC is spent on and cooling a home that nobody is in. More expensive programmable thermostats allow you to set 4 day time cycles such as morning, afternoon, evening and night. Better ones also allow you to set for weekday and weekend modes.
There was a special incentive from Union Gas, when I installed mine. They took $20 off my gas bill with proof of purchase. Check your local utility providers for extra incentives. If you are a renter and pay your own utility bills you can ask your landlord to have one installed or install one yourself and just switch the thermostats back when you move out. This is not only a great way to save but an environmentally friendly initiative.
My strategy in minimizing my bills from my split system air conditioning is that I never turned it on during daytime, though hot we just moved outside, open the windows and doors so that natural air will pass through. We will just open the a/c unit during night time to be able to sleep.
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