How to Stay Cool and Save on Your Apartment’s AC Bills

If you want to save money on your apartment’s energy bills this summer, you might think that your only choice is to suffer the heat with minimal or no air conditioning.  It’s true, the summer months usually mean that energy bills spike when we need to stay cool the most, and homes in southern climes like Austin apartments or Phoenix apartments might be especially prone to high bills as the summer wears on.  If you’re sweating out the summer in a simmering apartment, worry no more.  It’s not too late to turn your summer around and cool down while keeping your apartment’s energy bill low with these tips from ApartmentSearch.

Optimize Your Thermostat

Adjusting your apartment’s thermostat is one of the easiest things you can do to save money and keep your apartment cool during the summer.  The ideal thermostat to have in your apartment is one that’s programmable.  If you don’t have one, consider installing one with the go-ahead from your apartment’s landlord.  Then follow these easy guidelines to automatically or manually optimize the way your air conditioning runs:

• Turn up your thermostat at night.  It doesn’t have to be much, but raising your apartment’s temperature slightly while the sun is down can make a big difference over time.
• You should also turn the temperature up when you leave your apartment.  You might not want to turn the air off completely, especially if you have pets, but there’s certainly no reason to keep the air going at full blast when you’re not around to enjoy it.
• Try setting your thermostat at 78 degrees.  For many apartments, that is the optimal temperature that allows the air conditioner to cool the apartment without working too hard.

Rethink Your Furniture

Move your furniture so that nothing is blocking the flow of air from your A/C vents to the rest of your apartment.  You might be cooling the back of a couch when you could be cooling the people sitting on it, instead!

Turn on the Fan

While box fans and ceiling fans may provide minimal cooling, they use less energy than your A/C, and can be very beneficial when it comes to circulating the already-cooled air in your apartment.

Watch Your Windows

Closing your apartment’s drapes and blinds, especially while you’re away, can really make a difference in how hard your air conditioner needs to work to cool your home.  Do so both when you leave your apartment, and when the sun comes in directly through your apartment’s windows.

Put in a Maintenance Request

If you don’t think your apartment’s air conditioning is working as it should, don’t hesitate to ask your apartment to check that it’s in good working order.  Servicing the ducts, filters, or compressor might make a big difference in the effectiveness of your A/C.

More Tips from ApartmentSearch.com

For more tips on how to make apartment life more enjoyable, keep reading our Apartment Living blog!  You can also connect with ApartmentSearch.com on Twitter and Facebook.