1. Use a programmable thermostat.  This is a nice way of telling you that the temperature of your house is too high during the day, especially if you aren’t at home.  Get a programmable thermostat and set it to allow your indoor temp move up and down with when you are at home.  If you only have 1 temperature set all day you are forcing your system to run to meet that temp all day. Ugh.

2. Switch to Energy Star appliances.  The Energy Star is an accolade given by the U.S. EPA to a product that meets energy-efficiency guidelines set forth by the government.  An example: an Energy Star room air conditioner uses about 15% less energy than non-certified models.

Q – Why is Dave telling me to run out and buy all new appliances.

A – He’s not.  He is just saying look for the Energy Star when you buy appliances.  That will help save you money in the long run.

3.  Check your home insulation.  You knew this was coming didn’t you.  Just the fact you knew this was coming means you have doubts about your insulation, especially in your attic.  While some works better than others (foam is better than blown-in) anything works better than nothing.  You are paying good money to cool your air (or heat it in the winter), how about spending some dough on keeping it in your house.

Go right now and snoop around in your attic.  Check your insulation.  I’ll wait…..

4.  Ok, welcome back.  Have your HVAC system inspected and tuned up.  This includes getting your filters changed.  A dirty filter will force your system to work harder to pull through the air heading into you’re a/c, using more energy.

Bad news – if your unit is too clogged, it will probably shut down the air conditioning system.

Good news – if your system won’t run simply change the filter.  Good chance it will start right back up again, saving you a call to the repair man.

5. Turn on your ceiling fans.  Moving air will feel cooler than non-moving air and nothing makes air move better than a fan.  True, you will just be moving your warm air around, but it will help keep your cool air in the mix, and will feel better on your skin.