3 Easy Tips To Keep You And Your Power Bill Snug This Winter

As the summer season draws to a close, you may be facing the inevitable reality that winter is coming. To keep you and your power bill cosy during the colder months, here are three simple tips to follow.

1. Focus on the temperature

We know that when the cold days of winter roll around and the temperature drops, it can be mighty tempting to kick your air conditioner into overdrive. Before you do that, a word of warning! If you’re watching your power bill, it’s important to keep the temperature of your air con in check. According to Choice, the ideal temperature to set your air conditioner to is 8℃ warmer than the temperature outside, as this provides optimal heating for a more affordable price.

2. Stick to a maintenance schedule

While it can be easy to put in the too-hard basket, neglecting the maintenance of your air conditioner can reduce its efficiency and even cause it to use more energy. The good news is, keeping your air conditioner in check won’t take long and is easy enough for anyone to do. Here’s your to-do list:

• Check the filter

If you only check one thing on your air conditioner, make it the filter. Dirty filters reduce the amount of air circulating in your home and can increase the energy consumption of your machine by as much as 15%. Cleaning (or replacing—depending on the model) the filter once every month or two will keep your air con humming and your home cool.

• Give the coil a once over

Like the filter, your air conditioner’s coil (located in the air intake system, typically outside) can collect debris over time. It’s a good idea to give these a quick clean every year or two, particularly following periods of heavy weather when leaves or dirt may have collected in the machine.

• Think ahead – warm your home earlier rather than later

Quickly turning on your air conditioning to heat up your home consumes a lot of energy, leading to an expensive power bill. Fortunately, however, you can avoid this by planning ahead and warming up your home in advance. If you have a smart air conditioner, you can even schedule it to heat your home at specific times, like before you arrive home from work. This leads me to my final point…

3. Smarten up your air conditioner with AC Link

One of the best ways to save on your power bill and make your air conditioner work smarter is by embracing AC Link. With this integration, you can turn your air conditioner into a smart one, allowing you to connect to your air conditioner via Wi-Fi through the Emerald app. Using your phone, you can remotely adjust your air conditioner for power savings:

– Schedule your air conditioner to run at the right temperature at the right time, and take advantage of off-peak pricing that suits your budget and routine.
– Use smart actions such as Geofencing to trigger your machine to automatically turn off whenever you leave the house, or turn it on when you are coming home.
– Turn your AC on remotely so you can be sure you’ll return to a cosy home.

For more information about AC Link, click here.