Clean your air filters!
Here’s a simple action to help shrink your air conditioning costs: clean your air filters. This photo shows two filters, one clean and one dirty.
Dirty and clean air conditioner filters
When your filters are dirty, your AC has to work extra hard to pull the air in. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, “Replacing a dirty, clogged filter with a clean one can lower your air conditioner’s energy consumption by 5% to 15%.”
Plan to clean (or replace if your filters are not reusable) every month until you get a sense of how frequently they get dirty. This will not only save on your electric bill, it will also extend the life of your air conditioner and keep your home air cleaner. You can watch a simply video about cleaning your AC filter at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjywWBT98xI.
For more energy saving tips from the U.S. Department of Energy, check out this web page: http://www.energy.gov/energysaver/articles/spring-and-summer-energy-saving-tips.