TIPS
With hot Brisbane summers we often rely on air conditioners more and more. Air conditioning circulates the air and makes your home or office more comfortable. It maintains the temperature at a suitable level, dehumidifies, and removes dust and particles from the air. To keep your electricity bills under control try some of the following energy saving tips:
- Clean and inspect filter screens regularly. This will keep electricity consumption efficient and eliminate dust and pollen from conditioned air.
- Use light coloured 100% blockout curtains to reflect sun and heat outward.
- Set your air conditioning unit to re-circulate cool air instead of drawing in warmer outside air.
- Protect your outdoor cooling units from the sun. Place them on the south or shady side of your house.
- Turn your air conditioner off when your home or office is unoccupied. You can use an automatic timer to turn them on prior to occupancy again.
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Do not cool storage or unoccupied areas, like the basement or garage.
These tips should stop everyone from getting hot under the collar when the electricity bill arrives!
Keeping cool this summer can stress both your budget and the local electricity grid so here are some additional tips on reducing your cooling bills and conserving energy.
- Ceiling fans provide additional cooling to air conditioning and improve circulation, enabling you to raise the thermostat on your air conditioner and reduce costs.
- Set your air conditioner to a comfortable 24 degrees. There's no need to make your home an icebox and each degree cooler can substantially increase your energy bill.
- Choose an energy efficient air-conditioning unit. Smaller is not always most efficient. Check the energy star rating before you buy an air conditioner or compare energy requirements of competing models. Poorly sized air conditioning units can inflate your energy costs and contribute to poor indoor air quality, worsening your allergies and making breathing uncomfortable.
- Don't let your house roast. You can significantly cut your air conditioning load, reduce pollution, and fight your local "heat island" effect by ensuring you have adequate insulation in your roof (and walls), which can often reach temperatures greater than 50 degrees!
- Close blinds or shades on the north- and west-facing windows of your house during the day or install shading devices such as trellises or awnings.
- So you don't come home to a sweltering house on hot summer days install a programmable thermostat to automatically coordinate indoor climates with your daily and weekend living patterns. This will increase your comfort levels and well as reducing energy waste - you won't even have to remember to turn the air conditioning off!
Sipping an ice-cold beer and thinking cool thoughts can also help.
