Fortunately, you can beat the heat and beat the bill at the same time. Just follow this handy checklist for electrical maintenance so you can understand what steps you should take next. These tips will do everything from saving you money to maybe even saving your life!
1. Understand Peak Usage
With summer around the corner, you’ll want to save money on electricity whenever possible. The first step to doing so is to do your research about peak usage!
Basically, most people are using electricity between 11:00 am and 7:00 pm. If you use your devices during this peak usage time, you may end up paying a higher rate; use devices outside of this window and you’ll pay less.
Use this time to figure out exactly when peak usage is in your area and what the rate differences are like so you can save big!
2. Air Inspection
Summer is when your air conditioning unit really earns its keep. And, unfortunately, summer is when your air conditioner is most likely to try to give up the ghost due to having to work so hard. As a result, checking your A/C must be added to your checklist for electrical maintenance.
Try to get ahead of the game by scheduling an inspection of your air conditioner before summer really gets going. You can have one of our professionals check for things like dirt and damage while also making recommendations for saving energy.
Just think of the money a single call can save you!
3. Repair or Replace Fans
The logical way around a high electricity bill is to avoid leaning on your air conditioner so much during the summer. Instead, you should use fans whenever and wherever you can.
That means there’s no time like the present to have your fans repaired or replaced. You can have a professional help install wireless fans or simply make sure that everything turns on when you hit the switch.
4. Run a Tight Ship
When it comes to your checklist for electrical maintenance, sometimes the best ideas are the simplest ones. That’s why you should take this time to inspect and tighten all of your major electrical connections.
Basically, you want to tighten and test the voltage of everything you can. This helps ensure major appliances such as your air conditioner will be able to do what they need to do. Furthermore, this helps ensure that your equipment will last as long as possible.
5. Double Check All Thermostat Settings
While you’re tightening all those electrical connections, there’s another easy task for you to take on. Specifically, you need to double check all of the thermostat settings and make sure that you understand exactly how it works.
Sound easy? You’d be amazed how many people don’t really know their way around their own thermostat. Mastering this helps you to regulate the temperature in your house in accordance with the temperature outside your home, leading to big savings—especially when you’re away from the house!
Got an out of date thermostat, or just one that’s highly confusing? Don’t forget that you can contact a professional to help you inspect existing equipment or install something entirely new!
6. Test Home Alarms
Sometimes, homeowners take their home alarm system for granted. However, this thing is the first line of defense between your family and intruders. That’s why you should take this time to test all of your home alarms out.
And it doesn’t get much easier! Push the test button on your intruder alarms as well as your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms. Don’t hear a sound? That’s your cue to replace the batteries in the defunct alarm.
It only takes a few minutes to test your alarms and replace batteries as needed. And don’t forget that these few minutes of maintenance can literally save your family’s life!
7. Future Appliance Plans
When it comes to electricity maintenance, most of these ideas are about what you can do with your current systems. However, it’s never too early to be making plans for the future.
As you test your alarms, for instance, you might consider upgrading your alarm system. And as you tighten connectors on your washing machine, you might decide it will soon be time to replace it with something new.
Call your local professionals when you are thinking about replacing any of your major appliances or other home systems. They can help you pick the best energy-saving models and help you properly install everything!