Tips for Keeping Electricity Costs Low in the Summer

If your home is like most, then you experience high gas bills and lower electric bills in the winter and lower gas bills and higher electric bills in the summer. During summer, your home's HVAC system has to work hard to cool down the interior of your home and this is why electric costs skyrocket once the weather turns hot and humid.

Luckily, there are some things you can start doing that might help you keep your electricity costs low, even in the heat of summer. Try these tips from Southland's on-your-lot Georgia home builder and keep more money in your pocket this summer.

Keep Vents Open and Air Intakes Clean

Nothing causes an air conditioner to work harder than closed vents and dirty air intakes and filters. Check all of the vents in your home to make sure they're all open. Some believe that closing off the air flow to a room that's not in use wastes energy, but that is a myth. A central air conditioner is designed for optimum efficiency when all of the vents are open. Closing just one can result in less efficiency and higher energy bills.

In addition, replace the air filter in your HVAC system at the start of summer and vacuum the collected dust from the grill of your air intakes on a weekly basis. This will help ensure that air flows through your system unimpeded.

Use Ceiling Fans

On warm days, you'll get just as effective cooling results with less energy by using your ceiling fans or stand fans. Sometimes, all you need is circulated air to feel cooler and a fan delivers that at a fraction of the cost of running your AC. But, of course, fan direction matters. When it's hot outside, your celling fans should spin counter-clockwise to push the hot air in the room up and out.

Use the Laundry Machine Properly

Washing laundry in hot water accounts for 90% of all of the energy that's used by your washing machine. But, studies show that washing in cold water cleans laundry just as effectively. So, stop using hot water in most cases and wash appropriately-sized loads and you'll see a substantial savings on your energy bill.

Another laundry tip is to dry your laundry after 8pm. Many energy providers offer discounted rates on energy that's used during off-peak hours, so using a heat-generating appliance like your dryer (or your dishwasher) during the evening could help you save even more on your energy bill.

Use Power Strips

Some small appliances and electronic devices still draw electricity even when they're turned off or "hibernating." The only way to truly turn them off is to turn off their power supplies. But, this can be a pain when you have so many different devices. The solution is to use power strips. Plug like-devices into power strips and then turn the strip off when you're going to bed. This cuts the electricity to energy-sucking devices like cell phone chargers, video game consoles, desktop computers, and others using a single button.

Relocating to Georgia

If you're relocating to Georgia and you want to have a home custom-built on a piece of property that you have purchased, Southland Custom Homes can help. We're one of the top on-your-lot Georgia home builders and we can design and build you the perfect home for you and your family.

With over 100 floorplans to choose from and an array of top-of-the-line interior appointments, Southland Custom Homes provides a huge selection of plan options and custom features. Southland Custom Homes will work with new homebuyers to alter specific floorplans so that the finished project is exactly what the buyer wants. If you are looking for a trusted on-your-lot Georgia home builder, then Southland Custom Homes will be sure to meet and exceed all of your expectations.

Southland Custom Homes is one of the premier Georgia on-your-land builders. We have model showrooms located in Macon (3956 Bloomfield Village Drive, Macon, GA 31206), Dawsonville (837 GA 400 S, Dawsonville, GA 30534), and Marietta (265 N. Fulton PKWY, Marietta, GA 30062). Stop by today to see all that Southland has to offer!

Southland Custom Homes builds in the following locations:

Baldwin County
Banks County
Barrow County
Bartow County
Bibb County
Bleckley County
Butts County
Carroll County
Cherokee County
Clarke County
Clayton County
Cobb County
Coweta County
Crawford County
Dawson County
DeKalb County
Dooly County
Douglas County
Fannin County
Fayette County
Floyd County
Forsyth County
Fulton County
Gilmer County
Gordon County
Greene County
Gwinnett County
Habersham County
Hall County
Hancock County
Haralson County
Hart County
Heard County
Henry County
Jackson County
Jasper County
Jones County
Lamar County
Lumpkin County
Macon County
Madison County
Meriwether County
Monroe County
Morgan County
Newton County
Oconee County
Oglethorpe County
Paulding County
Peach County
Pickens County
Pike County
Polk County
Pulaski County
Putnam County
Rockdale County
Stephens County
Talbot County
Taylor County
Twiggs County
Union County
Upson County
Walton County
White County
Wilkinson County

We also build in the following cities in Georgia:

Acworth
Alpharetta
Athens
Athens-Clarke
Atlanta
Barrow
Bartow
Belvedere
Belvedere Park
Brookhaven
Butts
Calhoun
Canton
Carroll
Carrollton
Cartersville
Cherokee
Cobb
College Park
Coweta
Cumming
Dawsonville
Decatur
Dekalb
Douglas
Dublin
Douglasville
Dunwoody
Duluth
East Point
Ellijay
Fayette
Forest Park
Forest
Forsyth
Gainesville
Grantville
Griffin
Gwinnett
Hall
Henry
Hinesville
Hogansville
Jasper
John's Creek
Kennesaw
LaGrange
Lake Allatoona
Lake Blue Ridge
Lake Chatuge
Lake Hartwell
Lake Jackson
Lake Lanier
Lake Nottely
Lake Oconee
Lawrenceville
Lone Oak
Mableton
Macon
Marietta
McDonough
Milledgeville
Milton
Newnan
Newton
North Atlanta
North Druid Hills
The North Georgia mountains
Paulding
Peachtree City
Redan
Rockdale
Rome
Roswell
Sandy Springs
Smyrna
Snellville
Spalding
Stone Mountain
Sugar Hill
Tucker
Union City
Washington
Winder