Summer days here in the St. Louis area can be hot and muggy, but nighttime offers us a bit of relief with milder temperatures and lower humidity levels. So when it comes to using your air conditioner, what kinds of adjustments can you make at night to take advantage of the milder weather outside? Today we’re going to answer that question by talking about four tips for using air conditioning at night!
4 tips for using air conditioning at night in your St. Louis area home
- Raise your thermostat temperature before bed. One of the easiest times of the day to conserve energy is during the hours that you spend sleeping. For one, the temperature outside is typically the coolest during these hours, so our air conditioners do not need to work as hard. In addition, our sleeping bodies are not as affected by slightly warmer temperatures as we are when we’re awake. Try raising your thermostat setting 2-3 degrees before you go to bed and see whether or not it affects your sleep. Most people will find that it doesn’t. If you have a programmable thermostat, you can set it so that it automatically raises your thermostat when you go to bed and then changes it back to a cooler setting that’s ready for you by the time you wake up.
- Turn off electronics before going to bed. Our homes are filled with electronics these days, and they can add a surprising amount of heat to our homes even when they are not in use. Since you’re not going to be using any electronics while you’re sleeping, turn off and/or unplug things like computers, TVs, and lamps before you go to bed. This will help ease the load on your air conditioner while you sleep.
- Use bedroom fans. If you find that raising your thermostat temperature before bed leads to an uncomfortable night’s sleep, try turning on a bedroom fan. Many bedroom fans are located right above the bed, which means they blow air directly onto us while we sleep. This wind-chill effect can keep you cool while using a higher thermostat setting to save energy during sleeping hours.
- Open windows on cooler nights. On the cooler summer nights of the year, consider opening up your windows to let some cool air in and give your air conditioner a break. This will also allow you to ventilate moist and humid air that might have built up in your home during the day and stuck around at night.
If you have any questions about air conditioning at night, or if you’d like a cooling system serviced or installed in your home, contact Jerry Kelly Heating & Air Conditioning, your St. Charles, MO, air conditioning contractor. We provide service to the St. Louis area, including towns like Ladue, Lake St. Louis, and Manchester, MO.
