5 Home Cooling Tips to Save More Money While Working From Home
How to save energy while working from home?
Electricity bills went up almost 10% during the pandemic, but what if we told you that you could work from home while still saving money on your energy bill? Not as crazy as it sounds. With these five home cooling tips, you could spend less on cooling your home than you did while working in the office.
1. Change those dirty filters
You wouldn’t wear the same mask for a year, so why use the same air conditioning filter? According to the Department of Energy, dirty filters could be costing you up to 15% of your cooling bill. They make your AC work harder to push air around your home and increase your risk of a costly breakdown. New filters only cost a few dollars, so if you don’t want to be breathing dirty air, swap them out at least every 90 days.
2. Close your blinds.
Close those blinds! Not just when you’re getting out of the shower. Paying for AC in the summer is a necessary evil, but you can do it without selling your soul. We’re not telling you to live like a vampire, but you should consider shutting your blinds in the summer if your room gets direct sunlight. This can reduce heat gain by over 30%. So no more sweating at your desk all day just to repeat the process when your bills come through. But isn’t that counterintuitive if it means you’ve got to pay for lighting during the day? Nope. Half of your bill goes on cooling vs. less than 10% on lighting. This brings us to another cooling tip that could save you even more.
3. Switch to LEDs
If you’re using incandescent bulbs, keeping the lights on all day while working from home can raise the temperature by a few degrees. If you’re serious about saving money, then they need to go. LEDs might cost a little more initially. However, long term, the cost of lighting a house with LEDs vs. traditional incandescent bulbs could save you hundreds of dollars over a year. And that’s just the average! If you’re working from home, you’ve probably got the lights on all day, so they could save you enough money to pay for themselves in a month. Besides money, LEDs’ are brighter, last longer, and help keep your home cool. It’s a no-brainer.
4. Service your air conditioning system.
While working from home, the last thing you want is your AC to break down. Meeting that urgent deadline while sweating incessantly is never fun. A service is often vital for maintaining your warranty, so getting your system serviced now is the best way to avoid a nasty shock if it breaks down. Only 42% of homeowners regularly get their AC serviced, but it could save you a lot of money and help your unit last 40% longer. Some preventative checks can even be done on your own. We’ve made a handy guide to troubleshooting your AC, including some of the simpler parts of the service.
5. Use your fan instead of just air conditioning.
Using a fan can make a room feel five degrees cooler and is much more efficient than using your air conditioning alone. A breeze outside makes a hot day much more bearable, and this tip uses the same idea. The fan circulates air, cooling you down even when your air conditioning is set to a higher temperature. Use this powerful wind chill effect to save you money while working from home. Remember to turn it off when you’re not in the room as it only cools you, not your home.
Enjoy AC Savings
With these tips, you could enjoy lower bills than before you started working from home. Check out our other guides to save you money on your heating and cooling or energy bills if you found this helpful.
And as always, if your bills have suddenly sky-rocketed, why not get in touch with the pros for a free consultation? Whether you can’t get your furnace to work or there’s hot air coming out of your AC, we can help.