How To Lower Your Electric Bill – Part Two

This is the second part of an ongoing series of how to lower your electric bill. Please see yesterday’s for Part One.

1. Put window air conditioners on the shady side of the house (usually the north side). It saves you money by not working as hard.

2. Clear vents of obstructions, shut doors to unused rooms, and close floor or wall registers used for heating.

3. Check that air conditioners and furnaces are the correct size. Too small, it has to work too hard. Too large and they lose their efficiency, therefore using even more electricity.

4. Thermostat savings: Set the thermostat to the highest comfortable temperature. Moving the thermostat up one degree could mean about a three-percent reduction in your electric bill.

5. Turn it off: If you’re gone for an extended period, leave your air conditioner off.

6. Have regular checkups performed on systems. This keeps things running smoothly and could catch a problem before it’s too late. Like the middle of that unexpected snow storm, or the hottest ever day of the summer.

7. Leave storm windows and doors in place when the air conditioner is on.

8. Plant shade trees. This is especially important on the side of the house that gets the most sun.

9. Keep outside airflow unobstructed. Keep weeds and shrubs trimmed. Keep them away from outside heating/cooling units for best airflow.

10. Turn off all lights, TV’s, stereos and radios if no one will be in the room.

Check tomorrow’s Beat The Recession for Part Three…