Saving on HVAC cooling costs was something that just had to happen.
The first two years we were down here, the heat and humidity levels were completely overwhelming.
So it felt as though the only recourse was to pour on the air conditioning. It makes sense if you’ve ever experienced the sort of summer we get this far south. For sure, the winter is worth dealing with the summer. But it’s still a long four months where the temperatures outside hover right around the century mark for month after month. But after two years, it was time to stop over cooling our home. The HVAC cooling costs were just outrageous and I simply couldn’t justify them any longer. So this spring, I talked with the HVAC technician when he came to do the air conditioning tune-up on the house. This guy is a native of the area and a great HVAC professional. He’s also a heck of a nice guy. He told me that a great way to start getting accustomed to the heat is by not cranking the HVAC cooling in the spring. Then, he directed me to the HVAC company website where they had a step by step program of basic house and home preparation to save money on HVAC cooling. I followed it exactly and basically just really sealed up the house. But I also put in some solar sun shades to stop the direct sunlight heating in half the house. Yet, it is the thermostat setting that will really tell the tale. We didn’t lean into the HVAC cooling this summer so we’re hoping we can keep the thermostat in the low 80’s during the heat of the day this summer.