You come home from a long, hot day on the job. You go to reduce the settings on the thermostat, but your fingers stop inches from the button. If you drop the temperature, you’ll increase your utility bill. We’ve all had this feeling, and many of us have adjusted the settings anyway in an effort to be comfortable. But if you’re tired of feeling guilty for being comfortable, then we have the solution for you. With a few regular HVAC and home maintenance tasks, you’ll find the balance between saving money and staying comfortable in your Jacksonville, Florida, home.

Routine Preventive Maintenance

First and foremost on your journey to affordable comfort is to create a habit of completing HVAC preventive maintenance. This includes simple things that you can complete like changing an air filter to things that should be left to the professionals like cleaning, fixing, or replacing components inside the system.

A licensed professional can also suggest repairs or maintenance that will prevent more severe and expensive issues in the future that could reduce your cool air output even further. Routine maintenance will keep your system running at peak efficiency, saving you plenty of money in the long run.

Keep Your Home Clean

Believe it or not, your air conditioner has a harder time keeping you cool when your home is dirty. A home that is not cleaned regularly increases the potential for pollutants to end up in the HVAC system. Debris as small as dust and dirt can force the system to work harder to cool down your home. This further reduces indoor air quality and affects the performance of the air conditioning unit. In addition to the regular cleaning tasks, give special attention to areas around heat registers, vents, and the indoor and outdoor units of your system.

Cool Responsibly

You’d be surprised by how much money you could save by giving your system a break every once in a while. There’s really no point in keeping the air conditioning running at usual settings while you’re at work or on vacation, especially when you could install a programmable thermostat that can make sure your home is cool and ready for your return. Programmable thermostats put temperature control in your hands, so that you can reduce energy waste.

Let in Fresh Air

We know that opening a window on a hot summer day feels like you’re opening a window to a furnace; but on cool nights, an open window is just what you need. Especially in the summer, air that is kept still for too long can become stale, and stale air only makes your living space even more uncomfortable. Not to mention the toll that it takes on your indoor air quality. Open several windows to create an effective draft that will bring in some fresh air before it gets too hot in the morning.

On the same note, try to keep your blinds closed during the hot days. About 30 percent of all that unwanted heat is coming in through the windows and making it harder for the AC to cool your home. Closing blinds and curtains help to reduce heat gain.

Remove Incandescent Lights

Incandescent bulbs waste about 90 percent of their energy all in the heat they give off. While it may not be as significant as opening a window during the middle of the day, these bulbs will contribute to the heat inside your home and raise your electric bill with all of that wasted energy. Switching over to CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Lamps) will keep you cooler and save you a few bucks in energy costs.

By making a habit out of these simple tasks, you’ll be able to save even while maximizing comfort. For more information on how to stay cool this summer, or if you would like to schedule AC maintenance and increase the efficiency of your system, give Ocean State Air Conditioning & Heating a call at (904) 574-5619.

Image provided by Shutterstock