When summer hits in our neck of the woods, we can feel it: not only with high temperatures, but with mugginess and humidity that can turn your home into a swamp. Your air conditioner will likely need to perform every day for hours on end, and by default that means you’ll likely be paying higher air conditioning bill in the summer than you do in the spring or the fall. That reality can often obscure the fact that you’re paying more than you should, however. By taking steps to improve your A/C’s performance this summer, you can take a bite out of those high bills without sacrificing a cool and comfortable home.
That reality can often obscure the fact that you’re paying more than you should, however. By taking steps to improve your A/C’s performance this summer, you can take a bite out of those high bills without sacrificing a cool and comfortable home.
Some techniques don’t require any outside expertise, and indeed you are probably practicing at least some of them already. They include tips like dressing in lightweight clothes inside, and opening your home up at night when the temperatures are cooler. Other steps can be more extensive, however: additions to your HVAC system that help your air conditioner function more effectively. Here’s a list of three of them to give you an idea of the kinds of options available.
1. Dehumidifiers
High humidity is as serious a problem as high temperatures here in the summer. When humidity levels get too high, the sweat won’t evaporate off of your skin, which is your body’s natural way of keeping cool. The air will feel hotter than it is, and you’ll feel clammy and gross all day. Air conditioning systems can crudely deal with the problem (lowering the temperature of the air reduces the amount of moisture in it)m but the results place a great deal of strain on the system.
A whole-house dehumidifier, on the other hand, provides a far greater level of control: allowing you to set the humidity levels in your home to your specific comfort levels. More importantly, it will ease the strain on your air conditioner, allowing it to do its job much more effectively.
2. Zone Control Systems
Zone control systems divide the ducts of your centralized air conditioner into sections, each of which can be cooled independently of the other. It lets you set different temperatures in different rooms to accommodate the preferences of individual family members. More importantly, you can turn the air off in unused parts of the home during the day while still running it in parts of the home that are occupied. That can cut down on air conditioning bills considerably without denying you a cool and comfortable household.
3. Thermostats
Thermostats are designed to last a long time, and if yours is more than a decade old, you may want to look into a new model. Smart thermostats and similar models can help cut into your high air conditioning bills by analyzing your cooling patterns and making little adjustments. Other models will allow you to control your system remotely from anywhere in the world using an app on your phone.
If these sound like good fits for your Fort Wayne, IN home, call the pros at Collier’s Comfort immediately.