When the temperatures climb, it may be tempting to turn your AC unit down as much as you can, but if you have to bundle up in long-sleeve shirts and blankets just to stay warm, then you are spending more than you should to keep your home cool. While it is tempting to turn your home into an arctic oasis, small adjustments to your thermostat setting can have a drastic effect on cooling costs. 

Turn up Your Thermostat

It may seem like the last thing you want to do, but if you can handle turning your thermostat up by even one degree, you can save up up three percent on your cooling costs. Three percent might not seem like much, but over time, reducing your cooling costs can add up to a lot of money. Moreover, you can increase your savings by turning your thermostat up further. If you turn your thermostat up by five degrees, for example, you can increase your savings to 15%. On the other hand, the whole point of having an AC unit is to keep your home cool, so you may be wondering why have a thermostat if you aren't using it to keep your home cool?

A Programmable Thermostat

The key when turning up your thermostat is as much a matter of when as it is of how much. For example, are you home all day? Most people will be out of their home for most of the day. Use a programmable thermostat to set your thermostat at 80 degrees or so while you are out of your home during the day and to cool your home back down to 75 or 70 degrees before you get home in the evening. You can then turn your thermostat up at night when the cooling demands are less. Such a program will give you a better chance of success in that you don't have to be home to deal with the higher temperatures, so you don't have to worry that the heat will erode your resolve to save money. 

If you spend $1000 dollars over the typical summer, you could save yourself $150 dollars by turning your thermostat up by five degrees. It's such a small thing. You don't have to spend any money initially, it doesn't require remodeling, and you can even turn your thermostat up while you are away from home. So put the blankets away, break out your T-shirts and shorts, and crank up the thermostat by a few degrees. Contact a business, such as John Legg's Heating & Air Conditioning, for more information.   

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