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This following tip was written and submitted by Jeremy Lowe from Home and Business Interest

With utility prices going up, and many people complaining of increased problems with allergies and asthma, maintaining a high quality of air in our homes as import. During these hot summer months we close our houses up and begin to live in a Saran wrapped environment trying to keep out the warm weather and we hope keeping clean air inside. The following tips are necessary if you want to lower your utility bills with cooling, and maintain the best possible air quality in your home…

Have your air-conditioning system thoroughly serviced by a qualified company that includes the physical inspection of the indoor coil and the cleaning of the coil drain pan drain line a visual inspection of the duct work for leaks in the final test of the refrigerant in the system to see that it is properly charged for the conditions of the day of service.

Find the best recommended air filters that will not interfere with the operation of your heating and cooling system. Buying off-the-shelf high efficiency filters at a home improvement center in many cases can do more damage than good to the indoor air quality. Talk to your licensed air-conditioning contractor about you or improved filtration options.

Install a higher efficiency setback thermostat that allows your system to change temperatures for periods that are not peak times that you will not be at home, or times that you will be asleep and do not require the cooling that she would if you were working in the kitchen for example. This step alone can save several percentage points on the cooling costs.

Try to keep your windows shaded during the hottest parts of the day (those with no shade allow a large amount of solar gain.

Set up a schedule to change or air filtration on a regular basis per the manufacturer\’s recommendations. Keeping up with air filter changes will dramatically improve the efficiency of the filter and prevent less of a chance of mold growth on the filter medium itself.

Invest the money in a temperature and data logger. These devices can be found throughout the Internet and are respectively less than $100 apiece. They are a long term device that can be set in inconspicuous location in your home and will track 24 hours a day the temperature and humidity in that location. Although thermostats today have become much more accurate recording humidity requires much more detailed equipment. By being able to look at a month of recorded temperatures and humidity is in the House you may find that your home goes through periods of high humidity in excess of 55%. These high humidity times are prime breeding ground for mold growth. It is important if you wish to keep mold down in your house for allergies that you keep the relative humidity of your house well below 60%.

Keeping the relative humidity of your house at or below 55% inhibits the growth of dust mites and dust removes them ultimately from becoming an allergenic issue in a home. Once you\’re humidity level is low enough pull all mattresses covers blankets and thoroughly vacuum the mattresses the areas around the bed and then treat the sheets covers and blankets in the hottest possible water for a double washing cycle to make sure that any dust mites are killed.

If you have carpet, which in the case of someone who\’s suffers from allergies is not a good idea, make sure you have a high efficiency vacuum cleaner. Just having a high efficiency listing does not guarantee its performance. Use Consumer Reports as a way to check spot dust spot arrestance and particulates size arrested at different velocities of air flow of any type of vacuum cleaning system. Ultimately the best way to keep your air in your house clean when it comes to vacuuming is to have a central system where the actual vacuum sits out of the garage.

These simple steps can have a dramatic impact not only on your utility consumption to heat and cool but also on your comfort in your home and Castle.

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