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Summertime is here, which means it’s time to have some fun in the sun! However, if you’re a homeowner, you also know that summertime means it’s time for your power bill to shoot through the roof. Between the increased power you’re expending keeping your home cool and the prices of going on vacation, summer can be a pricey season.
It doesn’t have to be, though! With a few simple tips and upgrades, you can safeguard your finances deep into the summer season by updating your home and following a few simple guidelines. Follow these simple tips and you’ll see the returns in no time!
Are your windows and entryway doors aging? The weather sealing on them could be going bad. In fact, if they’re old enough, your windows might not even have any weather sealing. Check your windows out and see if they’ve got rubberized gaskets that help keep the outside out and the inside in.
If they don’t, then it’s time to upgrade your windows. Modern windows use a double pane design to further insulate your home, making summers that much easier for homeowners to manage. Likewise, your entryway doors could be outdated. If they’re not doing a good job of keeping cold air in, or hot air out, then it’s time to upgrade them.
Keeping your thermostat set to 74 degrees might not sound ideal to you, but it could be better than running up a massive power bill. If the daily highs are pushing up toward 95 or higher, trying to keep your home at 68 degrees is a losing battle.
Don’t try to fight the weather. Try to not cool your home more than twenty degrees below the exterior temperature, and use fans and warm weather clothing to combat the hottest part of the day. When the sun goes down and the temperature drops, you can drop the AC to match it. If your home is getting too hot following these guidelines, consider getting out during the day and enjoying summer activities like hitting the pool or the movie theater.
If you’ve got any refrigerators or coolers you keep in outdoor locations, like garages or covered patios, consider bringing them in during the height of summer. Refrigeration units will fight hard to keep the interior contents cold, which can burn through some serious power when the daily high temperature is over 90 degrees.
Pull these units in or just disconnect them entirely during the summer months to keep your power bill from staying too high.
