When deciding what temperature to keep your home at, you need to balance comfort and energy bills. You want your home to be comfortable, but you also don’t want high pay too much.

The Department of Energy Recommendation

The Department of Energy recommends that you set your air conditioner to 78 degrees when you’re home in the summer. This recommendation is based on establishing a reasonable comfort level while limiting how much energy each person is using. While 78 degrees sounds high, there are things you can do to make your home comfortable and supplement your air conditioning.

How to Keep Your Home Cool

You should turn on ceiling fans in the summer to make your home feel cooler. You will feel about 4 degrees cooler than what you set your air conditioner to when you turn on your ceiling fans. If you don’t have ceiling fans, use desktop and box fans to achieve the same effect.

Other ways to keep your home comfortable are to close blinds and curtains during the day. This will help keep the sun from warming your home. Add weather stripping to doors and windows so that hot air doesn’t enter your home from outside.

What About When You’re Not Home?

The Department of Energy recommends setting your air conditioner to 85 degrees when you’re away. You don’t want to turn off your air conditioner as this can increase your energy bills if your home gets too hot.

What About at Night?

The DOE recommends setting your thermostat to 82 degrees when you’re asleep. To stay comfortable, point a fan at your bed. If you live in an area that gets cool at night, you can open windows to be comfortable while sleeping, and the cool air from overnight can last throughout the morning, which can help you save even more on your energy costs.

Arctic Air of Southern Utah in St. George, UT, helps people stay comfortable in their homes. We offer heating and cooling services, including installing, repairing, and tuning up air conditioners and heaters. Our company can also help you with ductwork and indoor air quality services. Call us today to find out more.

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