It can be a challenge to keep your home comfortable in the summer without seeing your electric bills rise. Here at Around the Clock Air Conditioning and Heating, we have some tips that can help Los Angeles-area residents save energy without reducing their home comfort level. Best of all, most of the ideas are fast, easy and cheap.

For example:

  • Close the window shades. The greenhouse effect actually applies much more to your home than it does to the planet; sun shining through your windows can quite literally turn your home into a greenhouse. This can be helpful during cold weather, but any time your A/C is running, close the blinds to keep unwanted heat out.
  • Unplug electronic devices when you are not using them. Many electronics — including anything with a remote control — use at least a little power even when they are shut off. Also, phone chargers or laptop power cords use electricity (and produce at least a small amount of heat) whenever they are plugged into the wall, even if the other end is not connected to a device.
  • Cook in the microwave. Microwaves are not only fast, but they are energy-efficient; they heat only the food without producing a lot of wasted heat that warms up the air. Speaking of which, when you don’t cook in the microwave…
  • Cook outside. By grilling outside, you also keep the resulting heat outside. Cook inside, and your air conditioner has to burn energy to overcome the heat produced by your stove.
  • Keep your HVAC equipment maintained. A dirty air conditioner with parts that are old and worn out cannot run as efficiently as it is designed to. For example, a dirty air filter can slow down the flow of air, forcing your air conditioner and blower to work harder and longer to move enough air.
  • Use ceiling fans. Ceiling fans consume much less electricity than an air conditioner, so utilizing a ceiling fan (and reducing your A/C use) saves energy overall.

For more tips on how to keep your southern California home comfortable and save energy, contact us at Around the Clock Air Conditioning and Heating.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information, click here to download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Around the Clock Air Conditioning & Heating services Los Angeles, North Hollywood and the surrounding areas in California. To get started, check out our website or see our current specials.