Summer Tips For Air Conditioning Savings

With the summer season about to start, we thought you would like some summer savings tips. 

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Air Conditioning

• Cut the Air Costs: Making wise use of your air conditioner will help you save the most on your energy bill during the summer. Set your air conditioner to the warmest temperature that feels comfortable. Save energy by turning off your air conditioner or adjusting the thermostat upward during cooler weather and when no one is home.
• Window Air Conditioners: Turn the air conditioner off when you are not home.
• Central Air Conditioners: Raise the temperature setting on the thermostat when you go out.
• Save Automatically: If you have a programmable thermostat, use it to automatically adjust the temperature and save energy when you’re not home.
• Change the Filter: Replace or clean your window or central air conditioning filters once a month or as directed by the manufacturer. Dirty filters restrict air flow and increase energy use.
• Circulate Cool Air: Use fans along with, or instead of, your air conditioner to make your home feel cooler. Fans use far less electricity than air conditioners. A ceiling fan will allow you to raise the thermostat setting by about 4° F with no reduction in comfort! Just remember to turn the fan off when you leave the room.
• Beware of the Sunny Side: During the day, keep shades and curtains closed on the sunny side of the house to reduce heat caused by sunlight.
• Keep Your Cool: Make sure that windows and doors are closed tightly while your air conditioner is running.
• Add weather stripping: Weather stripping around doors and windows can help keep your home warm in the winter and keep cool, air-conditioned air inside the home during the summer.
• Make sure your system is tuned up.  It’s a good idea to get your A/C system inspected annually – this can find small problems that both waste energy and lead to major problems.

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In the Kitchen

• Don’t Create Heat: To keep the house cooler, try using a crock pot, toaster oven, or small microwave instead of the stove or oven.
• Clean Up Efficiently: Dishwashers use electricity and produce heat. Only wash full loads so you won’t have to run the dishwasher as often. Wait until the hottest time of day has passed before running your dishwasher, and use the more efficient “energy-saving” or “no heat dry” option.
• Clean the Coils: Vacuum your refrigerator’s coils and, of course, don’t leave the fridge door open longer than necessary.

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Around the House

• Save on Lighting: Use compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) instead of incandescent bulbs. They use less electricity, produce less heat, and last up to 10 times longer! And always turn off lights when you don’t need them.
• Use Fans: Fans use far less electricity than air conditioning. Use fans alone or with your air conditioner to stay cool for less money.
• Cut Computing Costs: Computers use energy even when they are in standby mode. Set your computer’s energy-saving options for maximum efficiency, and turn off the computer when it’s not in use.
• Save on Laundry: Always wash full loads of laundry and use cold water whenever possible. Make sure the dryer doesn’t keep running after your clothes are dry — or better yet — use a clothesline to save even more energy.
• Adjust the Water Heater Temperature: Set your water heater temperature to 120°F. If the tank feels warm to the touch, add an insulating water heater “blanket,” available at hardware stores.
• Check for Wasted Energy: Many electronic devices use energy even when they are turned off. Common culprits include home entertainment systems, office electronics, and appliances that include rechargeable batteries. Look for appliances that can be unplugged or connected to a surge protector, which can be easily switched off when the appliances are not needed.

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In the Yard

• Landscape for Efficiency: Properly placed trees can reduce surrounding air temperatures by as much as 9°F. Plant deciduous (leaf-shedding) trees to the south and west of your home to provide shade. Use evergreens to create winter windbreaks on the north and northwest sides of your home.
• Use Smart Lighting: Use photo sensors, motion detectors or timers to control your outdoor lighting and ensure that it is not left on when it is not needed.
• Go Solar: Where possible, use solar-powered outdoor lighting.

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Shopping

• Shop for Savings: Keep energy efficiency in mind when shopping for light bulbs, appliances, and electronics. Look for products that have earned the ENERGY STAR© label. They meet strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy, while offering high levels of performance and quality.  Rebates are also available for high efficiency units.
• Get the Right Air Conditioner: If you are shopping for a new air conditioner, look for energy efficient models that have earned the ENERGY STAR© label, and make sure you buy the proper size. One that is too large will start up and turn off more frequently, and will not do as good a job at dehumidifying the air.

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Get Out and Stay Cool

Plan summer activities that will help reduce your home air conditioning use while you stay cool and have fun. Here are a few ideas:

• Dive In: Go swimming. You’ll stay cool while you have fun and get in shape!
• Head to the Movies: Enjoy a movie in an air conditioned theater.
• Explore Culture: Plan your outings for hot days and get cool, and cultural, inside a museum or art galleries.
• Hit the Books: Head to your local air conditioned library to catch up on your summer reading.
• Go Window Shopping: Get out of the house and take a stroll in an air conditioned mall.

 

Should I Have my A/C System Serviced Annually?

The simple truth is you absolutely should have it serviced and ideally it should be done once a year.

There may be a lot of you out there that fall into the "If it aint broke, don't fix it" crowd. I would ask these people if they would drive their car 100,000 miles before servicing it. The idea of waiting until something is completely broken before doing anything about it is absurd. Waiting not only can cause any repairs to be two, three or even four times more expensive, it can also cause permanent damage to an air conditioner!



Call Stashluk
908-277-6200

Servicing your air conditioner helps to make sure it is operating at peak performance and can alert you to any problems that may be rectified before something breaks down. Most service companies will also offer to wash your condenser for you which can save many headaches and money in the future. Something as simple as not washing your condenser can cause your system to not work at all and has the potential to ruin your compressor (~$1500-$2500 part).

The most important thing you can do as a homeowner for your air conditioner is change your filter. I would argue that changing your filter every 30 days is more important for the air conditioner than the furnace.

So keep changing those filters and give your air conditioning service company a call once a year!

*As a side note, your Freon (or Puron as the new refrigerant is commonly called) should not have to be topped off once a year! We hear this a lot, however if this is truly the case you have a leak and that should be addressed before dumping money and refrigerant into a system. A properly operating system should not need the refrigerant charge to be adjusted.

Basement flooding is a lot of things – and all of them bad.

It’s expensive. It can cause illness. And, it causes stress – a lot of stress.

Especially if the basement is finished. Wet insulation and wet sheetrock can cause mold and mildew, which can cause serious illness. Wet framing is a concern because it can cause structural damage, which can greatly drive up repair bills, sometimes by thousands of dollars.

Simply put: It’s a big headache – and it’s expensive — to clean up and to replace lost property after a basement flood.

So, in the interest of preventing water damage, the first thing is to make sure the basement walls and floors are protected as well as they can be from water. It is also absolutely imperative to make sure the sump pump is working properly. An automatic sump pump should help keep normal amounts of groundwater from building up in the basement. It will act like a floor drain and keep the water from rising.

Unless there’s something wrong with the sump pump.

In fact, most flooded basements are the result of faulty sump pumps. Yes, power outages sometimes contribute to flooding, but the majority of basement flooding is caused by sump pumps that have failed or otherwise can’t handle the amount and flow of water.

To avoid plumbing service repair bills that can happen when a sump pump needs attention, and to prevent damage to property that is the result of flooding, homeowners should take the first step in prevention by making sure the sump pump is not more than 10 years old, the usual life expectancy of a sump pump. The best way to know the age of a sump pump is to keep the receipt; in fact, put it in a file to pass off to the next owner of the home, as a courtesy – and a headache preventive.
Basement flooding is preventable. To help avoid the results of flooding, keep handy this list of things that can disable a sump pump:

• Tripped circuit breaker: Make sure the sump pump has a dedicated circuit. If additional items are connected, it could trip the circuit.
• Faulty switch: The sump pump’s switch might be stuck against the side of the pit. Or, debris might be caught in the pit, causing the switch to fail. Be sure to inspect the switch to make sure it’s operating freely.
• Clogged strainer: Sump pumps have a strainer at the bottom that the water flows through. If the strainer is clogged, the water won’t flow through properly and the basement could flood.

Another effective way to help prevent basement flooding is to install a two-pump system, which insures there will be a back-up pump should one pump fail. It also has an alarm to alert homeowners in the event of a failure.

Basement flooding can be very expensive, and it certainly is a very big headache. It is also preventable. Being proactive by knowing what problems to look for in sump pumps currently in use and by becoming educated about alternative systems is advisable.

Not sure if your pump ,is up to the task? Call Stashluk Plumbing, Heating Cooling & Generators to test and inspect right now before the next potential flood.