Tips to keep your air conditioning bill lower this summer

TAMPA, Fla. - Summer is officially here, and that means summer power bills are here too.

Maintenance is key

What we know:

Maintenance on your air conditioner could be the key to spending less, starting with your filter.

"If the air can't flow free, you're not moving the air you're supposed to, your system's working much harder, you're going to pull more energy," said Chad Kaaa, the owner of I Know a Guy AC.

One key thing to remember in Florida is to flush your air conditioner lines or risk algae growing and causing the system to shut down.

"The most effective way for a homeowner is to hook up the vacuum outside So it's pulling anything in the drain through and at the same time pour water into the drain," Kaaa said. "The vacuum really just sucks it through and kind of grabs all the gunk, the stuff that builds up over time that clogs your drain."

Consistency helps

What they're saying:

Another way to reduce the A/C bill is to keep your home at a consistent temperature instead of changing it from a higher temperature to a cooler one.

"It's making the system work really hard when it could work not quite as hard just trying to maintain a more reasonable temperature as opposed to taking a break and then having to work really, really hard to catch back up," Kaaa said.

Seal your home

Why you should care:

On top of that, keep your home sealed up tight with good windows, properly lined doors and attic insulation.

"A lot of these homes, the insulation's really old, and your attic is 130, 140 degrees," Kaaa said. "So, to fight that, 72 degrees inside the house, 130 in the attic, you really need a good layer of protection and insulation in between the two."

Finally, there are things you can do at home to help. Try making your fan turn counterclockwise to push air straight down and closing the blinds to help keep the heat out during the height of the day.

"If you can close windows, you can close blinds, anything you do to try to keep the heat out a little bit, it's definitely going to help out," Kaaa said.

If you are looking for a bigger project, consider updating your air conditioning or windows.

"You should have some options for some really high efficiency," Kaaa said. "We just did one for a customer about six months ago and he opted for a higher efficiency one and his power bill is down 100 bucks a month coming into this summer."

A major cost saver

By the numbers:

According to data from the US Department of Energy and Florida Utility Guidelines, homes can save 20-40% of their cooling costs by using a number of these changes.