Tips for a More Efficient Home This Summer
With the start of summer comes the end of the school year and children being home for longer hours during the day. And whenever people are home, energy is being consumed to keep them comfortable, fed, and entertained. But you don’t have to be a prisoner to summer’s seasonally high utility bills if you are willing to utilize some simple efficiency tips.
The key to summer efficiency is to understand how energy is consumed and, subsequently, how it is wasted. Once you know where you and your home stand, you can develop effective strategies to increase efficiency. From home automation to simply keeping an eye on windows and doors, you can save a bundle.
Use Ceiling Fans Wisely
The biggest consumer of electricity during the summer months is home air conditioning. You can reduce the amount of energy your AC is consuming by making smart use of fans – particularly ceiling fans. We might even suggest that ceiling fans are the single most important component in reducing summer energy use via the air conditioning.
According to the federal government’s Energy Saver website, using the ceiling fans in your home makes it possible to raise the thermostat setting up to 4°F without any reduction in comfort. And rest assured that ceiling fans use far less energy than AC systems. The only caveat here is that you don’t run a ceiling fan when no one is in the room. That’s just a waste of energy.
Automate Your Lighting
We don’t tend to think of lighting as a big consumer of energy during the summer because the days are so much longer. But the old adage of ‘out of sight, out of mind’ certainly applies. For instance, it’s fairly common to turn the light on in the bathroom during the early morning hours only to forget about it because the sun is shining brightly by the time you are ready to leave for work. That light stays on the entire time you are out. Lights are also left on in the evening hours when the family goes out to enjoy the patio or pool.
Home automation makes it simple and easy to automate all of lighting your home. And for homeowners looking for affordable home lighting automation, DIY packages like the ones we sell are the perfect solution. You can automate all of the lighting in your home along with exterior lighting and landscaping effects. You will save money without ever having to worry about remembering to turn lights off again.
Use Windows and Doors to Your Advantage
It is never a good idea to leave your windows and doors open all summer. Not only is doing so a security risk, but it’s also terribly inefficient. But you can still use them to your advantage nonetheless. For example, the early morning hours represent a great time to open windows to allow cool breezes through your house.
You can automate the garage door so that if you leave and forget to close it, you can rectify the problem with your smartphone from just about anywhere. Closing the door makes your garage more secure and prevents hot air from getting into your home through the garage.
Energy efficiency during the summer is just as important as during the winter. We just tend to forget about it because the days are longer and temperatures are warmer. If you are looking to make your home more efficient this summer, we suggest looking into a home automation system to help you control your lighting, thermostat, and landscaping elements. We have everything you need to get started.
Sources:
1.Energy.gov – http://energy.gov/energysaver/spring-and-summer-energy-saving-tips
