It's heating up... Don't let your cooling costs get out of control

The unofficial start to summer has come and gone and the weather is definitely getting warmer. As you start to turn on your a/c units or swamp coolers, make sure you do a few things.

1) If you are using a central a/c unit, spend the $100 and have it professionally cleaned and serviced. This act alone will likely save you more than $100 on your utility bill over the summer months.

2) If you are using a swamp cooler, have it professionally cleaned and serviced. Be sure to make sure your water connections are tight and leak free. Water leaks can get expensive in a hurry. It's easy to leak hundreds, if not thousands of gallons of waters if you don't check on a regular basis. On a roof mounted unit, you may not even notice because the water will go into your gutters and water the grass.

3) No matter what you are using, CHANGE YOUR FILTERS! On central a/c units, do it monthly. They are cheap. The dust clogs them up and makes the units work harder increasing your costs. On swamp coolers, check and clean the water filter monthly. Change the pads at the beginning of the summer. You may want to check and change them at the end of July or in early August as well.

4) Close the shades on the sunny side of your house. Pay particular attention to south and west facing windows.

5) Turn off the lights if you aren't in the room or don't really need them on. Lights give off heat and your cooling system is working against them. Turning out the lights is particularly important if you are using Halogen or incandescent bulbs. You may want to consider switching to CFL bulbs where ever possible. They produce about 70% less heat than incandscent bulbs AND they are much more energy efficient.

There are lots of things you can do to help reduce your energy bills. These are just a few simple ideas to get you started.