Find Ways to Save Energy in Your Phoenix Area Home
Tips and Advice on How to Save Energy
- Clean or change your air filter frequently. We recommend checking it at least every 4 weeks in our dusty desert climate.
- Do not set your thermostat lower in the cooling mode than is comfortable. The average resident is comfortable at a setting of 78 to 80 degrees. For every degree that you lower your thermostat below 78 degrees you increase your electric consumption by 2% to 5%.
- In the summer, setting the fan to the “on” position will allow the indoor fan to run continuous, thus providing continuous circulation of air between cycles. This continuous circulation can allow many users to set their thermostat a degree or 2 higher while still remaining comfortable.
- Use ceiling fans to circulate air and make you feel cooler at a higher temperature setting. Be sure to turn the fan off when the room will be unoccupied.
- If you have a routine schedule each day, consider a programmable thermostat. It can save you money by not holding a comfortable temperature in the house when the home is vacant.
- Do not turn off your air conditioner during the day when you are away. It is much more cost effective to raise the temperature to 82 or 83 degrees. This will use less energy and still allow for the air conditioner to recover when you lower the thermostat to your desired comfort level when you return home in the evening.
- Keep all windows and doors closed.
- Close draperies on the sunny side of the house to block the sun’s summer rays.
- Do moisture-producing chores in the early morning or at night when it’s cooler (washing clothes or dishes, mopping floors, watering plants, etc.).
- Plan hot work (washing and drying clothes, baking, cooking) for cooler morning and evening hours. Have your attic insulation level evaluated. If it is low, increasing the insulation can be an economical way of reducing your electric bill while increasing the overall comfort of your home.
- Verify that your attic space is well ventilated to decrease the heat build up.
- Wash the outside coil of your air conditioner with a garden hose once a year in order to keep it at top performance. Clean away debris, leaves and shrubbery for free flow of air through the coil fins.
- Do not close off more than 20% of the registers in the home. This can cause high resistance in the ductwork system. The result may be unnecessary heat build up in the furnace in the winter. In the summer the reduction in air flow can cause icing up of the cooling coil, higher humidity levels, and can lead to possible compressor damage.
- In the cooling season, don’t run kitchen and bath exhaust fans longer than necessary.
- Do not place lamps, TV sets or other heat-producing devices beneath a wall-mounted thermostat. Rising heat from the equipment may cause the air conditioning system to over-cool your house, thinking that it is warmer than it actually is.
- Never store anything combustible near your gas furnace.
- If you have a gas furnace, make sure that flue connections and venting are always unobstructed.
- If you smell natural gas call the local gas company at once.
- If you have a power outage or brown out, turn off your air conditioner immediately. This may save the components from damage.
- If your HVAC system is 10 years or older, consider the benefits of replacing it with a more efficient system that consumes less electricity.
- Have your heating and cooling system serviced each season to keep it in tip top shape. You can avoid costly repairs and unnecessary down time when you need your system the most.
