Home energy-saving tips as the weather warms up

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The weather is warming up quickly and you may have turned on your home cooling unit. PNM has some home energy-saving tips to help stay cool.

PNM has a free home energy checkup available. During the checkup, they point out various tips and ways to help you save money on your energy bill.

First, your air filter. You should change that at least every three months.

“This is what we call a temporary air filter. This is what you actually have, the size of the air filter, as well, and that gives you 24x25x1. So usually, that one at the end shows you how big the air filter is, which is one inch. If you have an air filter that is two inches, that is every six months you need to change it,” a PNM representative said.

These filters help sift out pollen and dust, improving your home’s air quality. Not changing these filters regularly means your system works harder to push air. That means more energy used and higher bills.

Second, light bulbs.

Take a tour around your home to ensure all your lightbulbs are working. If you want to save a little money, PNM says to switch to LED bulbs.

According to PNM, “LEDs are actually 90% more efficient than incandescents and last up to 25 times longer.” They’re also cooler and can halve your energy costs.

The third thing to look at is your thermostat.

As the temperatures go up, you’ll likely start turning on and leaving your air conditioner on. PNM says to set your thermostat as high as is comfortable and you will save around 2-4% for every degree.

A smart home thermostat may help you, too. It allows you to schedule how warm your home will be, depending on the time of day.

For example, during the day, you may not want to heat or cool your house as much as the evening because you may be gone at work. Some thermostats even let you run everything through your phone and adjust as needed.

PNM says a smart thermostat can help save you around 8% on your home’s heating and cooling bills.

Lastly, windows and doors. It’s important to have good insulation around your home to keep the heat and cool in and harmful pollutants out.

PNM says, “If you see any kind of light cracks, you do want to make sure that we replace water stripping or even ger corner seals. You always see those tiny pockets of light that come through the corners of the door, so corner seals are really, really big ones.”

You also want to replace your door sweeps every five years to ensure your keeping the draft out. Also, properly insulate your windows as it’s a major source of heat loss and heat gain.

To schedule a free home energy checkup, click this link and watch the video above for more.