See Product Pricing in Your Area. Find a store based on your current location. To shop online at this location, please visit our Canadian site. Parts of your body are sticking to other parts of your body, and it's horrible. Lucky for you, you've got air conditioning. Unlucky for you, A/C is a real punisher on the power bill. Here are a few tips for maximizing your cool without crippling your bank account.You've been sweating your face off outside, and nothing feels better than coming in to a nice, cold room. Your impulse will be to set your A/C to 66 degrees and let it get nice and nippy. Keep it set to 78 degrees. You don't need to be cold, you just need to be comfortable. For every degree below 78, you are increasing your energy usage by approximately 8%. You don't need to be indoors in a sweatshirt. Keep it at 78 or higher and rock a t-shirt and shorts. If you have a window unit with Low, Med, and Hi as your only options, keep it as low as you can handle.It's better to use your A/C minimally and have one cool room than to have your A/C maxed out and have your whole apartment only marginally less blistering.

If you don't have a door that you can close between rooms, improvise! Hang a thick blanket in between rooms to create a nice cool-box that doesn't stress your A/C. (I recommend using picture-frame hangers, and then threading a few safety pins into the blanket so it's easy to put up and take down.)how do portable air conditioner units workCeiling fans use waaaay less power than an A/C unit, consuming about the same amount of energy as a 100w light bulb, which isn't too bad, comparatively. average price of air conditioning unitMake sure the fan is going in the correct direction so that it is pushing air downward toward you (the higher edge of the fan-blade should be the leading edge in its rotation). sizing ac units square footage

Ceiling fans don't actually make the room cooler, but they make you feel cooler when they're blowing on you (think wind-chill). As with an A/C unit, if you're not in that room, turn your fan off.Your A/C unit has a filter. It's thin, light, easily removable, and if you've never seen it then it's probably pretty disgusting right now. Pull it out, stick it in the shower, and give it a good once-over with a sponge. Let it dry then put it back in—and be thankful you aren't breathing that crap anymore. This will increase the unit's output and lower the temp. The other half of this is keeping the coil clean. If you're on the ground floor, then it's pretty easy: just use a garden hose to blast some water into the unit through the grates at the top and the sides. If you're on an upper floor of an apartment building, you're going to have to get creative. Try using a portable, pumpable paint-sprayer (but use water, not paint… duh).This one's a twofer. Keeping your air conditioning unit in the shade can make it up to 10% more efficient.

If you have means to build a shade for it (that's not too close so there's no vent blockage), by all means, do it.The other half of this is shading your apartment. We covered some of this recently in our article on low-budget cooling, but this especially applies when using A/C. When it's hot and sunny lower your blinds, yes, obviously, but if you really want to see a difference get yourself some honeycomb blinds (also called celular shades). They are fantastic insulators. They will help keep the cooled air in during the summer and they're great for the winter when you want to keep the cold air out (and they can darken the hell out of a room for a more cinematic movie viewing experience). They will reduce your bill and start paying for themselves very quickly. There are many other things you can do to stretch your A/C, but these are the quickest, easiest, and cheapest. If you have more tips, leave 'em in the comments. Please Click here to login again. Take advantage of our AC Quality Care Program

Heating and cooling accounts for over 44 percent of your home energy bill. Lower your monthly energy bill by keeping your air conditioning equipment working at peak efficiency. AC Quality Care can help. When was the last time you had your AC system checked? A home AC system can be complicated. Luckily, PG&E rebates aren’t. Maintaining your air conditioner might not be something you think about, but it should be. Especially when you realize that heating and cooling account for 44 percent of your home energy bill. That being the case, it’s easy to see how important routine maintenance is to help your AC system perform better, decrease costs, and reduce the chances of it breaking down. How the program works Air conditioning equipment needs regular maintenance to operate efficiently. AC Quality Care contractors are trained in national industry maintenance standards to help your AC system perform better and save you energy and money. AC Quality Care begins with a complete assessment of your system.

A certified contractor helps you decide what preventive maintenance you need by: Visiting your home to test your system and explain what you can expect from the program Assessing your air conditioning system for safety, performance and any needed repairs Providing detailed recommendations, along with information about available rebates You decide what work you want your contractor to perform. After the work is completed, your contractor helps you apply for PG&E rebates to cover some of your costs. How to qualify for rebates You can receive rebates of up to $395 to help pay for work done by AC Quality Care certified contractors. Rebates are available for the following services and products: $75 initial Full ACCA Standard 4 HVAC System Assessment. This assessment provides a complete evaluation of your system. Then you work with your contractor on next steps. Following the assessment, you may qualify for additional rebates. $50 refrigerant charge adjustment.

$50 efficient fan delay rebate. $170 replacement blower motor rebate. $50 one-year quality maintenance agreement rebate. To qualify, you must complete at least one of the following: refrigerant charge adjustment, efficient fan delay, blower motor retrofit. $100 comprehensive kicker, available with the One-Year Quality Maintenance Agreement and completion of two energy savings measures. Measures include refrigerant charge adjustment, efficient fan delay, blower motor retrofit. To be eligible to receive rebates, you must: Complete qualifying maintenance services between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2016. Be a PG&E customer with an active electric meter at the installation address. Have a central air conditioner or heat pump. Live in a single-family residence or duplex. Make your home more comfortable and save money with a well-maintained air conditioning system. AC quality care services For customers: Visit Find a Contractor.