Air Conditioning > Green Air Conditioning Solutions
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Green energy Solutions for cooling your home
Energy-saving Home Cooling Tips.
Making your home’s air conditioning system more energy efficient doesn’t mean you have to suffer through a hot humid home or spend the day in an ice-filled bathtub. Taking simple steps can often help you significantly reduce your energy bills and your carbon footprint.
Cool off. The easiest way to lower your need to cool your home is to keep it from heating up. Some home energy efficiency tips you may want to try include:
- Landscaping your lot to shade your house.
- Using a light-colored material to help it reflect heat when, and if, you are replacing your roof.
- Insulating your house to at least the recommended levels to help keep out the heat, and consider using a radiant barrier.
- Close all the windows and exterior doors on hot days.
- Installing window shades or other window treatments and close the shades. Shades will help block out not only direct sunlight, but also radiated heat from the outdoors.
- Avoiding use of the oven on hot days; cook on the stovetop or in the microwave— better yet, grill outside!
- Avoiding any activities that generate a lot of heat, such as running a computer, washing laundry, burning open flames, running a dishwasher, and using hot devices such as curling irons or hair dryers. Even stereos and televisions will add some heat to your home.
Program Your Thermostat. One of the easiest green energy solutions is to simply turn your thermostat back 10°–15° for eight hours. In doing so you can save around 10% a year on your heating and cooling bills. You can do this automatically without sacrificing comfort by installing an automatic setback or programmable thermostat.
If you do not have a programmable thermostat, look for the ENERGY STAR® label when you’re shopping for one. Read more about thermostats here.
Tune-up Your System. It’s important to give your air conditioning system regular service. A tuned-up system will run more efficiently, lower your energy costs and last longer. Contact ARS®/Rescue Rooter® to give your system a complete tune-up at the beginning of each heating season.
High-efficiency A/C. If your air conditioner system is older, you might be able to reduce your energy use by 20%–50%* by switching to a high-efficiency air conditioner and taking other actions to keep your home cool.
Contact an ARS®/Rescue Rooter® professional to schedule a no-cost analysis of the benefits and savings of replacing your system and for more green home energy solutions.
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