Though it got cooler again temporarily, Spring is here and we are slowly getting warmer thankfully! Soon enough it will be time to shut the furnace off for good this season. You want to be comfortable this spring and also save money on your energy bills. Here are a few things you can do to be both comfortable and energy efficient. Early in the spring when it’s not quite warm enough to need the air conditioner you can cool and air out your house by using the windows and screened doors. This is a great way to air out your home that has been closed up all winter. There is a general rule of thumb temperature on the thermostat to stick to for summer and winter. In the winter, your thermostat should not be set above 68 and the summer the thermostat should not be set below 78. These numbers seem off at first but setting the thermostats this way will get most energy savings out of your system. While you have the thermostat set to 78, turn your ceiling fans on counterclockwise to circulate air around the room. This will make it feel a couple degrees cooler than the thermostat is set to without making the AC work harder than it should. This saves you money and makes you comfortable at the same time. Another way you can stay cooler without cranking the thermostat way down is to use your heat generating appliances in the morning and late evening when the sun is low and it is cooler outside. This way you don’t have more heat added to the house when it is already hot enough, that makes the AC work harder and raises your energy bills. If you want to save even more energy, you can switch from incandescent bulbs to LED bulbs. LED bulbs use 1/10th of the energy that incandescent bulbs use. LED bulbs produce no heat while incandescent bulbs create 90% heat and 10% light with the energy they use. Another simple thing you can do to save energy is shut the AC off at night and use the cool night air to cool your home. This takes no energy at all, just simply open your windows. These are simple little things you can do that have the potential to save you money on your energy bills. Don’t forget to have your AC cleaned and checked this spring by professionals like the ones at Bartlett Heating and Air conditioning. We have a $59 AC clean and check special going on now that includes a 28 point inspection and a cleaning so call us today!!