The Lawhead Team would like to share some tips to beat the heat this summer without racking up your electricity bill.

During the hot summer month’s people crank up their air conditioners in an effort to stay cool. You can do things to avoid turning on your air and still keep your home cool:

• Ventilate Your Attic: If you have adequately sized vents and/or an attic fan, it can help keep hot air from building up during the summer.
• Prepare Your Air Conditioner: Shut off the power to your unit before you start cleaning it. Wash and vacuum reusable filters and replace disposable ones. Clear leaves and other debris from the condensing unit and hose off any dirt.
• Service Your Air Conditioner: If you need to run the AC during the summer you can have the unit serviced by a professional to make sure it is operating in tip-top shape. Many utility companies happily offer discounts on air conditioning and heat pump tune-ups. Leaky duct work can also eat into the efficiency, so sealing ducts could make a big difference.
• Add A Timer To Your Air Conditioner: Leave it on higher temperatures when you’re away.
• Install Ceiling Fans: On a moderately warm summer day, fans can circulate enough air to keep you comfortable without air conditioning. On hotter days when you use the air conditioner you can set your thermostat higher to save money.
• Open Windows: During the evening open up windows to let the cool air inside. Keep them closed during the summer days when it is hot out and you’re operating the air conditioner.
• Keep Sun Out: Close blinds, shades or draperies during the hottest part of the day. Cover windows with light colored blinds inside especially on west windows that allow much more heat to permeate later in the afternoon.
• Electronics: Another often overlooked heat source comes from electronics inside your house. Turning off the TV and flicking off the light switch goes a long way in keeping the heat down.
• Shade For Your Home: Shades and awnings on the outside of windows are also incredibly effective ways to cool a home down, as are shade trees and other plants – particularly when they are planted on the west and east side of a home.

The Lawhead Team would like to share some tips to reducing your Air Conditioning electric bills this summer. Beat the heat with these tips:

• Replace HVAC air filters often to ensure you are getting the maximum use out of your air conditioner. Normal dust build-up can reduce air flow by 1 percent per week, boosting up your electric bills monthly!
• Make sure to turn off your AC if you leave your house for more than an hour to save on electric bills.
• Reduce your cooling load. Provide effective shade for your east and west windows and if possible, delay heat generated activities such as dish washing until the evening.
• Keep your home closed up tight during the day. Don’t let unwanted heat and humidity in by leaving windows or doors cracked open. At night when the air is cooler, ventilate your house by leaving the windows open and propping a fan up in the window. If you have ceiling fans, use them to provide air flow as well. This will be less than having to turn on your air conditioner, thus saving in electric bills.
• Plant shade trees around your home. However, if you want to benefit from passive solar heat in the winter, don’t plant trees on the south side of your home.
• If you have to buy a new air conditioner, be sure to purchase energy efficient one that is properly sized to still stay low on  your electric bills. You can get assistance from an energy auditor or your air conditioning contractor.
• Set your thermostat to 78 degrees F or higher if using ceiling fans. Also make sure not to air condition unused rooms which will waste money on your electric bills.