June starts tomorrow. That means the heat is about to get turned way up in San Antonio. And that means you’re going to have your air conditioning running A LOT to try and keep cool. And that means high energy use bills for your home. Or does it?
For a lot of people, it does. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Check out this list of things you can do to save energy at your home in San Antonio.
Ways To Save Energy In San Antonio
There are a few ways that you spend energy in your home so there are also a few ways that you can save on the energy you are spending. What are they? Good question! Let’s find out.
Air Conditioning And Heating
We all want a comfortable home. For some people, that means 68°. For others, it is 72°. Or maybe you like it warmer in the living room, but cooler in your bedroom for when you sleep during the night.
In order to meet the desires of everyone or every room, it takes a lot of energy. But you can cut down on energy by using a smart thermostat that will maintain the temperature in specific areas or specific times of the day. This way you aren’t cooling your whole house just because you want to lower the temperature in your bedroom.
Your heating and cooling system is the biggest energy user in your home. An intelligent heating and cooling system helps you to save energy and money. But you’ll find even greater savings by decreasing the workload on your HVAC system. How can you do that? We’ll get to that towards the end of this article.
Lighting
Lighting is another big energy user. If you haven’t already, you should consider upgrading to the latest and most energy-efficient lamp types — LED. They are the highest energy-efficient and have a service life of about 25,000 hours, This can be about a 25-year lifespan (based on 2.5-3 hours of daily use). Doing this can save up about 30 percent of your lighting energy costs.
There are a couple more things that you can try as well. Always make sure the lights are off if you aren’t using them is an easy one. You can also adjust the brightness of your lights. You need a different amount of light at different times of the day so when you need less — use less! Plus, dimmed lights are better for your eyes.
Appliances
A commonly forgotten part of choosing appliances is the operating cost that comes with them. Even a small operating cost will add up with many appliances lasting for 10-20 years. Just like with your lights, make sure to turn appliances off when they aren’t in use.
Shading
Here’s a sneaky one. Whether you have blinds, shades, or shutters — using them in the right way can pay off big time. Here’s an example that doesn’t happen too often in San Antonio. During a cold and sunny winter day, pulling back your window coverings will let the heat from the sun into the room and naturally do the work your heater could be doing. More appropriate for a San Antonio summer — keep your window coverings closed to prevent the heat from coming in and forcing your air conditioner to do extra work.
Optimal Home Efficiency
Saving energy at your San Antonio home just got a whole lot easier thanks to Caliente Plumbing, Heating & Air. They have just introduced a high-efficiency package that makes it easy to save energy at home in San Antonio. Spray foam insulation is the key to this high-efficiency package. Here’s what comes in the package.
5-year no-interest financing on high-efficiency spray foam insulation, tankless water heaters, and HVAC system. And with any high-efficiency package, get a water softener to compliment your home’s new upgrades.
Why Spray Foam?
New to the spray foam insulation idea? There are a lot of benefits that come from having this installed in any home. Especially in a place like San Antonio. Here’s a look at the benefits of spray foam insulation.
Benefits Of Spray Foam Insulation
Spray foam insulation is a single-material solution for thermal, air, vapor, and water vapor transmission through your home’s building envelope or enclosure. What does this mean? Here’s an example. Picture the enclosure of your home to be like the clothes that you wear when the weather is windy, damp, and cold.
The sweater is insulation and helps retain your body heat. But it doesn’t provide much protection against wind or moisture. This is where a thin waterproof windbreaker is helpful. It does a much better job of blocking the wind and moisture than your sweater. Spray foam insulation is the only insulation option inside stud walls that can provide heat retention, an air barrier, and a vapor barrier in one product.
Spray foam insulation is a strong thermal insulation too. The material forms in-place and fully adheres and expands to eliminate cracks and gaps that could leak air or water vapor. As we apply it in a continuous layer, it also eliminates the majority of thermal bridges that may be caused by framing. The thermal and air-sealing properties are what will enable your home energy bills to stay as low as possible. Check out these additional benefits.
- Save 30% or more on heating and cooling costs
- Control your indoor air quality
- Reduce pollutants, allergens & pests entering your home
- Keep your home cooler in summer & warmer in winter
- Increase your indoor comfort in all rooms
- Many more!
In Conclusion
There’s a lot you can do to keep your energy bills as low as possible — even in the intense summer heat that hits San Antonio every year. In fact, here are a few bonus tips from CPS Energy.
- Set thermostats 2-3 degrees higher, from 3-7 p.m.; set programmable thermostats to a higher temperature when no one is home.
- If home, use fans to feel 4 to 6 degrees cooler.
- Set pool pumps to run early morning or overnight; shut off from 4-6 p.m.
- Turn off and unplug non-essential lights and appliances.
- Avoid using large appliances (i.e. ovens, washing machines, etc.), especially during peak demand hours.
- Businesses should minimize the use of electricity lighting and electricity-consuming equipment as much as possible.
- Large consumers of electricity should consider shutting down or reducing non-essential production processes.
Not only will you save a bunch of money when you save energy at your home, but you are also helping the environment. And that helps everybody!
