ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — As the summer heat stretches on, monitoring your energy bills this time of year is important so you don’t overuse your air conditioning and drive up costs to cool your house.
Compared to winter, RG&E says demand for their services is higher in the heart of summer. But doing things like keeping your blinds closed during parts of the day and even shading your HVAC unit can make a difference in saving money and still keeping your house cool.
Like most Saturdays in the summer, Pete Soehner of Rochester likes to be outside while his 14-month-old daughter plays with her water table and splash mat. But inside, he tries to keep it in the low 70s for comfort.
“We have one of those nest thermostats that’s on a timer so it cools temperature while we’re gone, and then we put it back on at night and let it go up a little bit while we’re sleeping cause we won’t really notice that,” says Pete.
Specialists with RG&E advise keeping the inside of your home in this range is the best level to avoid overpaying.
The Avangrid Senior NY Communications Manager Shelby Cohen says, “Each degree above 75 that you can stand with your air-conditioning setting saves you 3% of the energy used to cool your home, so the savings are exponential.”
No matter what type of ventilation your home has, owners should keep their windows closed to avoid solar heat coming in.
“Close your drapes and shades on hot sunny days to reduce the solar heat build-up, and close your windows and doors during the hottest parts of the day to keep that humidity outside. And during the day, use as few lights as necessary; let the daylight do the work,” says Shelby.
Pete adds, “Do the little things like making sure all our windows are well sealed so we’re not trying to cool off the outside.”
Keeping your HVAC unit in the shade, RG&E says, helps it stay cool and use less energy. Also, having electric fans or window AC units plugged in all day is like keeping your lights turned on all day, so it’s important to turn them off to save energy.