As the weather heats up throughout the spring and temperatures start to become unbearably warm, you might be tempted to crank up your air conditioner in response. Fortunately, you don’t have to be an energy hog to beat the heat in Dallas, Texas. Follow these three tips to keep cool while cutting your energy use this spring.

Cook Outdoors

The kitchen can quickly become the hottest room in your home, especially if you’re using all four burners and firing up the oven to prepare meals. To keep the heat out of the kitchen and lower the temperature overall, move the cooking outdoors. Whether you have an elaborate outdoor kitchen setup or an informal charcoal grill, you can make your outdoor space fun while using less energy indoors.

Reset the Thermostat

Once warm weather rolls around, you won’t want to keep your thermostat programmed to winter settings. If you have a programmable thermostat, switch it to cooling mode and set the temperature to 76 or 78 degrees during the times your family is typically home. When you’re asleep or away, dial it back eight to 10 degrees to save energy for several hours each day. Consider upgrading to a smart thermostat for even more intelligent management of your home’s climate control.

Prepare Your Cooling System

If you haven’t taken a look at your cooling system in a few months, there’s no time like the present. Check the outdoor unit of your air conditioner or heat pump and remove any branches, leaves, or other debris that’s fallen over the winter or spring. Trim back tall grass and shrubs to give the unit some breathing room, generally about two to three feet. Doing these basic maintenance tasks helps your air conditioner run as efficiently as possible, which translates to lower overall energy consumption.

Whether you need a tuneup, a new air conditioner, or an updated thermostat, we can help. Call Bill Joplin’s Air Conditioning & Heating at 888-414-4655.