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Summer swelter: How to keep cool without breaking the bank

North Alabama cooling experts talk about how to prepare your HVAC system for summer.

DECATUR, Ala. — A whopping 90% of Americans use air conditioning in their homes, according to a report by the Energy Information Administration. Out of that large percentage, it's safe to say many are not keen on overheating or overspending while keeping cool.

"This is actually a great time of year to get prepared for summer," said Joe Holmes of Decatur Utilities. "We're starting to get a hint of those warmer temperatures, but it's not really hot yet."

That means it's the perfect time to take care of maintenance relating to your air conditioning system. Beyond calling a professional to check out your units, trying to keep your home cooler manually will also help lower that bill.

"Anything you can do to naturally cool the home and to naturally keep heat out of the home is going to help your unit not have to work quite as hard," said Holmes.

Holmes suggests keeping blinds and shades closed during the day. Doing so keeps unnecessary heat from spreading inside your home.

"Anything you add to your home, heat-wise, that unit's got to overcome," he advised. 

Another tip comes with a certain degree of sacrifice, especially if you're used to keeping things much cooler inside. But if your main goal is to keep overall costs down...

"We recommend  that you set your thermostat as high as you can comfortably bear it," said Holmes. "78 is the optimum. A lot of people don't like to hear that, and I understand. We want you to be comfortable, but [78] is the optimal temperature for your unit to be able to overcome the outside temperature, keep the home comfortable and not have to work so hard that it runs that bill up."

Having a ceiling fan installed will help offset the higher thermostat setting - if you have it running in a certain direction.

"Set your ceiling fans on counter-clockwise," Holmes advised. "What that's going to do is create a downward wind chill, brushes across your skin, makes you feel a couple of degrees cooler."

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