Hoooo-eeeee! It’s getting hot out there, Myrtle Beach! Am I right, Murrells Inlet? Hey y’all, it’s Cool Cat swinging by with news you can use to beat the heat this summer – without emptying your wallet. As the temps keep cranking up outside, here’s how you can save cooling costs, and stay cool inside:
1. Regular Service and Maintenance on Your HVAC System – Cool Cat gets the inside scoop for you and the cats over at Carolina Cool tell me that one of the biggest mistakes people make is not having regularly scheduled service and maintenance on their HVAC system. This one issue can reduce the energy efficiency of your cooling system drastically and suck the cabbage right out of your wallet. That’s not coooool! Regular maintenance keeps everything clean, lubricated, up-to-date and running in tip-top shape.
2. Sealing Up Doors and Windows – Has the weather-stripping around your door seen better days? Are there cracks around your windows in need of caulking? You know Cool Cat tells it to you straight and these little details add up to big costs on your utility bill.
3. Energy-Efficient Window Coverings – These window coverings, also called blackout curtains, help reflect the sun’s rays back outside to prevent them from heating up your humble abode.
4. Programmable Thermostat – A programmable thermostat can save you beaucoup buckaroos! So, whenever you aren’t home, program the thermostat to a warmer temperature. Set it to chill things down when you normally get home to actually enjoy that cool air. The closer the temp inside your house is to the temp outside your house, the less energy it takes to keep it cooooool. And the best part is you can just set it and forget it.
5. Fan Yourself – Using your ceiling fan can make it feel up to 4 degrees cooler, which means you can set your indoor temperature 4 degrees warmer and still be chillin’. Just make sure to only use ceiling fans in the rooms with people and cats in them (okay, dogs too) because fans make YOU feel cool in a wind chill sort of way. Fans don’t cool rooms, they cool living things. Just swipe off the fan when you leave a room to maximize your energy savings.
6. Switch to LED Lighting – Okay, check it, this is one change that saves you dollars all year long, not just in the summer. LED uses less energy and lasts at least 7 cat’s lives. Even better, it doesn’t get hot like halogen or incandescent lighting can – an often-overlooked source of unnecessary heating in your home.
7. Do Hot Stuff at Night – You know, running the dishwasher, doing the laundry (especially that clothes dryer) or baking sea bass pot pies in the oven for your friend, Cool Cat. Running appliances that generate heat inside the home at night when it’s cooler outside means your cooling system doesn’t have to work so hard to keep your house nice and chill. Bonus energy saving here too because using these kinds of appliances during off-peak hours is cheaper. What did you think I was talking about?
If you do notice any issues with your home’s temperature, such as not being able to reach the set temperature (as long as you don’t have the thermostat set to “Alaska”), unusual noise, excessive moisture compared to previous summers or even getting way colder than the temp you set on the thermostat, then you want to get the cats at Carolina Cool out to take a look pronto! Carolina Cool’s got the best pros in the know on keeping you cooooool all summer long.