(LAFAYETTE, La) – Every Summer, the temperatures rise, along with utility bills. Tips to help improve the efficiency of cooling systems can really help out, and recently I discovered a few I hadn’t really paid much attention to before. If you have a home with central air conditioning, maybe these tips can help you feel more comfortable at home without putting too much of a strain on your finances.
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My house is over 50 years old now, and has a relatively new air conditioning system which was installed less than 5 years ago. I still noticed that during the summer here in Lafayette, I had areas in the house that felt uncomfortable, even with the thermostat set lower than recommended. Let’s face it, 78 degrees inside a house doesn’t sound like a nice place to relax. My thermostat was on 70 during the day and 66 at night. Still, even with ceiling fans running, window shades closed and lights turned off, the house felt stagnant. It was at this point I did a little research and found a few things that have definitely helped out the comfortability of my home.
1. Running AC Fan on Circulate Mode:
This one made the biggest impact so far in how my house feels at a higher thermostat temperature. Instead of turning the fan on continuous mode (which will also work but has the potential to increase my utility bill), I found that circulate mode does the trick while keeping my thermostat higher than I used to. I even keep my night temperature higher than before with the increased comfortability which should cut down my utility bill somewhat.
2. Dehumidifier:
We all know in Louisiana that it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity. It’s a real factor in comfortability in homes, but not all AC systems have the dehumidifier function. We purchased a portable room dehumidifier from the hardware store and during the summer, I am very consistent regarding emptying the device as soon as it’s full. Getting your home humidity levels to a reasonable 30-50% will help you feel cooler…