When you choose to live in my home region, that choice comes with a bunch of HVAC cooling.
There just really isn’t any other option.
Much the same as when a person lives in a region that experiences a long, cold winter. Those folks know that part of that bargain is they will be paying for HVAC heating whether it’s from a gas furnace or a boiler. When I came to live here, the weather was a key part of my decision. I had enough with winter even though I wasn’t living in a region way up north. Still, I was sick of cold and wanted a very mild winter where I could do stuff like play golf in the winter months. However, part of that equation means that facing summer can come with lots and lots of HVAC cooling at home. So, my very first summer, I did a bit of research to understand the most reasonable strategy for keeping the HVAC cooling costs in check. The basics were clear and I have followed them ever since with great results. The whole thing is about efficiency so I start by having the HVAC technician do the air conditioning tune-up in the spring. That ensures the heat pump will operate at its most efficient. Then, I made sure the house had a great seal on it. This keeps the HVAC cooling in and the heat out. I put up some solar shades in areas of the house that got direct sunlight heating to stop that. And then, it was basically making sure the thermostat was set during the low 80’s during the peak heating hours of the day.