The kids are out of school… you’re working from home… your spouse is as well… none of you can really go out and do much… oh, and it’s hot. With everyone home during the Stay Home, Stay Safe order, you’ll have to be careful or your electric bill could shoot up dramatically during this time.
So how can you prevent this from happening? Here are six tips to help you keep electricity costs low while quarantining.
#1 Make sure your ceiling fan is turning the right direction.
If you stand under your fan, do you feel a breeze? If not, the direction may be set to blow air up (that;s how you want it set during the cold months). Make sure to reverse the rotation to create that breezy effect and help you cool off. Feeling the breeze may help you avoid turning down the A/C.
#2 Do laundry early in the morning or late at night.
Running large appliances during the day can force your A/C to work harder. Instead, run early in the morning or late at night during the coolest parts of the day. And run loads back to back to take advantage of the heat buildup so your machine won;t have to use as much energy.
#3 Completely fill the dishwasher.
While everyone’s at home, you’re going to be eating out less, which means using more dishes. That translates to more energy being used by your dishwasher. To help mitigate, ensure that the dishwasher is completely full before running a load.
#4 Get outside and grill.
Grilling is a great way to get your family outside when they’re going stir crazy. But not only that, it can help keep your home cooler. When you turn on the oven in the evening, you’re heating up your home and your A/C has to work harder to cool. By grilling, you avoid this issue.
#5 Clean your filter.
Now that winter is officially past, it’s time for some routine maintenance on your A/C. One of the easiest things you can do to make your system run more efficiently is to clean your filters.
#6 Remember, each degree below 78 degrees can cost you big.
If you’re someone who just walks over and starts mashing the down arrow on the thermostat when you’re hot, you might want to take a moment to reconsider. When it comes to temperature settings, every degree below 78 can increase your cost up to 7%.
