Energy Saving Tips For The Summer Months

Content Posted: June 29, 2019

In recent years, the internet has been filled with advice on saving energy, reducing bills, and helping the environment. Often, it can be confusing as to which information you should follow. With this in mind, we’re bringing everything back to basics. If you want to focus on saving energy during the summer months in Arizona, here are five of the most effective tips you can follow!

Turn Off Lights and Devices

This sounds too simple, right? Well, you don’t always need to invest in all sorts of fancy energy-saving gadgets. Instead, simply turn off lights and devices when they aren’t in use. If you aren’t in the kitchen, the light doesn’t need to be on. If you aren’t planning to play on the Xbox or PlayStation, turn it off. Whatever you aren’t using, keep it off and save that energy. If you are considering an investment in outdoor lighting for your yard, you should consider investing in solar lights. Solar lighting is a great way to enhance the ambiance of your yard while keeping your energy bill down in the summer months.

Air Dry Laundry

According to Connect4Climate, the washer and dryer are responsible for 13% of all energy usage in the home. With the dryer, in particular, this is known to use lots of energy with every single cycle. For this reason, we recommend air drying your clothing. If you’ve never done this before, it’s easy to be worried about the results. You’ll be fine as long as you follow these top tips;

  • Take advantage of warm days by hanging clothes outside.
  • If outside isn’t an option, keep the windows open and allow fresh air to pass through the home.
  • Start timing the whole process by when you can dry rather than when you can wash (morning washes will allow the clothes all day to dry with the windows open!).

Invest in Insulation

Though most homeowners and business owners have now followed this advice, there are still some who don’t have insulation in their property. Without this protection, heat will escape through the walls and attic. With insulation, more heat stays in the home and you don’t need the heating on for so long. During the Arizona summer, you want to keep the heat out of your home. So a properly insulated attic in Phoenix will help prevent the heat from seeping in, and the cool air from seeping out. A major part of making your home energy efficient is making sure the home is properly insulated. Performing an energy audit on your home is a great way to know how well the home is insulated. Without proper insulation and meeting pearl standards, you can’t obtain a Pearl Certification for your home if that is something you desire. A Pearl Certification has been known to increase the value of a home by over 10%.

Using the same Connect4Climate report, we can see that cooling and heating is responsible for nearly half of all energy costs. If you can reduce this, you’re going to see a huge difference in what you pay each month.

Use Energy-Saving Lightbulbs

Again, this is a tip that goes under the radar as we focus on more extravagant solutions. Not only do these lightbulbs use less energy when in use, they can last up to TWELVE TIMES longer. If this doesn’t impress you, it saves the hassle of trying to find the ladder in the shed and replacing the bulb every so often (hooray!).  For the outdoors, there are solar solutions for motion lights, porch lights, and other exterior lighting. Solar is quickly becoming a solution for a variety of interior and exterior home appliances and electronics. 

Turn Down the Air Conditioning 

We know what you’re thinking, ‘I don’t want to turn down the AC during the Phoenix summer! We know it can be miserable during the Arizona summer months, but if you want to be efficient with your energy use you should consider setting the thermostat to a comfortable temperature and leaving it there. Turing the AC up when you leave, and then down when you return, can cause the HVAC system to work harder than it should and that means higher electric bill. During the hottest days of summer, Phoenix can reach 115 degrees plus on any given day. These temperatures are brutal and even cause death to infants and the elderly. Do not put yourself in a dangerous situation by lowering turning the AC up to save a few dollars. The Arizona summers can be dangerous and your home needs to remain cool. Converting to Solar Panels in Phoenix can really help with this issue. Instead of worrying about your electric bill, solar panels can generate you your own power. This is great for anyone living in Arizona that has experienced electric bills that have surpassed the $500 dollar per month mark. 

According to the Department of Energy, each degree of the thermostat is worth around 1% in energy savings across eight hours. The more you reduce the thermostat, the more energy (and therefore money) you save. For those who actively pay attention to their thermostat and reduce it when it isn’t required, it’s thought they save up to 10% on their energy bills. In Arizona, the temperatures can be pretty mild during the rest of the year. Many Phoenix residents will completely shut down their HVAC systems once summer is over. If you live in Flagstaff or Greer, the winter months require a running heater or fireplace, but down in Phoenix, it’s rarely necessary. This will provide you a lot of savings during the other 8 months. 

Conclusion

In truth, saving energy doesn’t have to be a big upheaval, you don’t need to make huge sacrifices in your life. If you insulate your home, switch off lights, turn off devices you aren’t using, turn down the thermostat from time to time, and use energy-saving bulbs, this is HUGE progress already. You save energy, money, and the environment thanks you for your efforts too!