With summer months approaching fast, it can bring you to a sweat just thinking about it. It’s hard keeping your home cool in Arizona when temperatures reach triple digits. Luckily we have compiled a list of helpful hints and tips to ensure you are using your resources and saving money while you’re at it.

1. Make sure your blinds are closed. Your air conditioner has to work harder to offset the sunlight streaming through your windows.
    
2. Turn on your ceiling fans. You’ll feel about three degrees cooler even if the overall temperature isn’t much less. Ceiling fans also cost much less than running your air conditioning. Once your fan is on, make sure it is spinning in the correct direction. The air should be blowing down in the summer months and spinning up in the winter. Remember to turn off fans in unoccupied rooms to conserve energy.
    
3. Be sure you’re turning off appliances like TVs, computers and other unused electronics. TVs can be a huge heat source. If you have it on merely for background noise, turn on the radio instead. It can save money, lower the overall temperature, and perhaps inspire you to enjoy the evening outside if it’s cool enough. In fact, why not have Sun Devil Plumbing install outside misters? It’s a great way to enjoy the weather without overheating. Call today to schedule service!
    
4. Close vents that are not being used. This way more air can be distributed to the most commonly occupied areas of the house. However, be sure the basement is well-ventilated. This will help remove humidity and keep your basement from being muggy.
    
5. Turn off the lights. Although this is important year-round, it’s especially critical in the warm summer months. Compact fluorescents do put off less heat than incandescent, but still create unnecessary heat. During the day, the sunlight through your closed blinds or curtains should be enough to get you around the house, but when nighttime rolls around, only use the lights you absolutely need. Not only will you save money by using less electricity, but your air conditioner won’t have to work as hard either.
    
6. Do laundry and dishes in the evening. Your dryer can give out loads of heat (no pun intended), so waiting until it’s a cooler time of day can be helpful to your air conditioner. For those on a time-of-use plan, this can be also beneficial. Air-drying dishes instead of using the drying cycle is another way to preserve your energy and keep your air conditioner from working too hard. Another helpful hint for year-round is making sure your loads are completely full before running your dishwasher or laundry appliances.
    
7. Install a programmable thermostat. You can set it to go up by five degrees when you are about to leave and to lower five degrees before you return. That way you aren’t cooling your home when no one is there. Just another way to keep your pocketbook full.
    
8. Try to make meals that don’t involve the stove or oven. This can generate a lot of heat, for obvious reasons. There are plenty of meals that don’t require appliance usage. If you need to use the stove, wait until evening.
    
9. Don’t place lamps or TVs near your air conditioning thermostat. The heat that radiates from these appliances will only increase the amount of time your air conditioner runs.
    
10. Be sure to change your air filters when necessary, usually around once a month.
     
11. If you do buy a new air conditioning unit, see that it is properly sized. Bigger is not always better. Studies have shown that central air conditioning units are generally oversized by 50%.
     

Hopefully Sun Devil Plumbing can save you some money this summer with these tips to keeping your home at its coolest. If you would like to schedule an A/C tune-up before the heat becomes unbearable, call us today! We have some great specials so be sure to keep us in mind.