Summer Tips for Saving Energy at Home
Uxari customers know that we are all about helping them save money through state-of-the-art smart home automation equipment that makes the home more efficient. Indeed, we love saving money through efficiency. So now that the summer season has arrived, we are excited to talk about some of the easy things homeowners can do over the course of the next 3 to 4 months to save energy and money.
Summer offers some built-in energy-saving benefits including warmer temperatures and longer days. But rest assured there are some offsets as well. For example, what you might not spend on heating during the summer months could be spent on cooling instead. That means saving energy during the summer requires looking at energy consumption according to seasonal needs.
Keep Control of Your Thermostat
We obviously believe that the best way to control your thermostat year-round is through home automation. But in the absence of that, do not allow your thermostat to get out of control just to keep your house cool. The same rules we apply to save energy in the winter also apply during the summer.
When you are not going to be home, bump up your thermostat to about 75° or so. When you return you can drop it back down to 70 or 71 and your house will cool down very rapidly. Whatever you do, don’t just choose a constant temperature and hit the ‘hold’ button. Use your thermostat in such a way that you are not cooling an empty house.
Hang Your Laundry on the Line
An easy and very effective way to save a considerable amount of energy during the summer is to hang your laundry outdoors on the line. You may be surprised at how much electricity (or gas, in some cases) you save by not running your clothes dryer all summer. And as a bonus, your clothes will smell fresher after being hung outdoors in the open air.
Keep the Blinds Closed
Depending on how your house sits, certain rooms will get very hot throughout the day as they are exposed to the sun. A good way to keep your house cooler and save energy is to keep the blinds closed according to whatever pattern is appropriate. For example, blinds on the east side of the house should remain closed throughout the morning hours. Close blinds on the west side beginning in mid-afternoon.
Believe it or not, you can let one of our systems control your blinds with the installation of a DIY home automation controller. Blinds can be programmed to open close in whatever way you program them.
Take Your Cooking Outdoors
Cooking indoors during the summer can actually increase energy use by requiring your air-conditioning to work harder. So why not take advantage of the warm weather and take your cooking outside? The amount of propane or charcoal you use for cooking will not be nearly as expensive as the energy you would use to run your stove and your air-conditioning.
As a bonus, cooking outdoors tends to encourage us to prepare lighter and less complicated meals that do not require as much cooking. Salad, chips, and other similar foods take the place of prepared potatoes, vegetables, etc. You save energy that way as well.
Smart home automation equipment is the best way to make your home as efficient as possible this summer. If you don’t have home automation system installed yet, you can still do some practical things to control your energy use for the next several months. Just use some common sense and you’ll be fine.
