The summer season is approaching, which means higher temperatures are on the horizon. Whether you’re working from home and want to maintain a comfortable environment in your home office, or you’re simply looking for ways to reduce your expenses, energy efficiency can provide valuable assistance.

Implementing energy-efficient practices at home is nothing new. In fact, it has been saving consumers money on their energy bills for many decades. Appliance efficiency standards alone have saved Mexican households nearly $10,000 pesos a year on energy bills. In addition, a survey conducted in 2022 revealed that 2 out of 3 adults in Mexico are in favor of more stringent energy efficiency standards for appliances and buildings.

niña comiendo sandia

Here are some practical tips to beat the heat and improve energy efficiency in your home:

  • Cook outdoors: If you’ve gotten into the habit of baking bread to pass the time during the last few months of insulation, consider cooking outdoors on a grill. Opting for this alternative to using the oven will raise your home’s internal temperature less, which means you’ll need less energy to cool it.
  • Improve indoor air quality: The use of gas stoves and furnaces can negatively affect the air quality in your home by increasing the concentration of nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide. Instead of using these appliances, try grilling vegetables. Besides being a fun summer activity, it will also contribute to a healthier home environment and reduce your energy consumption.
carne a la parrilla
  • Efficient entertainment: If you decide to stay home on a hot day to play video games, turn off the instant-on feature on your game console. Consoles throughout Mexico that use this feature can consume an amount of energy equivalent to that of a large coal-fired power plant in an additional year. Also, avoid using consoles to stream movies and TV shows, as this can significantly increase electricity consumption. Instead, choose more efficient devices such as Apple TV, Roku or Amazon Fire Stick.
consolas de videojuegos
sala de estar con televisión
  • Sealing cracks: There are likely to be small cracks around the windows and doors of your home that allow warm air to enter and air conditioning to escape. By sealing these cracks, you will ensure that no warm air enters and the conditioned air stays inside your home, which will further reduce the amount of energy needed to keep it cool.
grieta en una pared
sellado de grietas en una pared
  • Air Conditioning System Maintenance: Don’t underestimate the importance of proper maintenance for your HVAC system. A dirty air filter can clog air flow and make your air conditioning system work harder, and can even cause premature failure. Set a reminder to replace the filter at least every three months, and if possible, check to see if it can be cleaned instead of replaced. Also, consider hiring a professional to check, maintain and, if necessary, upgrade your air conditioning equipment annually, which will improve efficiency and comfort in your home all year long.
limpieza de filtros de aire acondicionado
mantenimiento a equipo de aire acondicionado

There are simple actions you can take to control the temperature in your home without making costly modifications:

  • Use a ceiling fan, as it can make a room feel up to ten degrees cooler and consumes only ten percent of the energy compared to an air conditioner. Turn the fan on counterclockwise to draw cooler air from the floor and direct it downward. Remember to turn the fan off when leaving the room, as its main function is to create a comfortable thermal sensation for people, not to cool the room itself.
ventilador de techo
  • Before leaving the house for long periods of time, turn up the temperature on the thermostat. Keep the thermostat at 23 degrees when you’re home and 26 degrees when you’re not. Adjusting the thermostat at night or when you leave the house can help reduce your energy bills by 10 to 15 percent over the course of the year.
  • Close curtains or blinds on hot days to prevent solar heat from entering your home. This way, you can keep the room cooler and reduce the need to use the air conditioner, or the air conditioner will require more energy to cool.
habitación con ventana

By adopting energy efficiency measures, you’ll not only be saving money, but also helping to address the climate crisis by reducing greenhouse gas emissions generated by fossil fuel-fired power plants. In fact, energy efficiency alone could provide 40 percent of the emissions reductions needed to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, which the United States has rejoined. In addition, energy efficiency has health benefits, as reducing energy consumption during the summer can reduce the emission of air pollutants and, as a result, save lives.

So this summer, take advantage of energy efficiency tools to stay cool, save money, and contribute to climate and environmental stewardship.

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