Money-Saving Tips for Heating & Cooling Your Short Term Rental

The comfort of your guests during their stay inside your vacation rental is paramount for the success of your business. Whether your property is in the US, the EU, or Canada, your AC or HVAC unit(s) needs to be working optimally to make it comfortable and convenient for your guests. This way you can not only keep guests happy but also keep a tab on your monthly energy bills.

Monthly Cleaning of Filters

Filters in air conditioners catch a lot of dust all the time from the environment. It is imperative to clean the filters of your air conditioners once a month to make sure that your air conditioning is working at an optimal level.  Because you may or may not be in your unit all the time, you need to come up with a way to remind yourself and your maintenance staff to change these filters every single month like clockwork.  If your STR is in your home, you can install thermostats with lights reminding you to change the filters.  This is especially necessary if you often forget this routine.  Not only does this add years of service to your units, but it will also help in keeping your electricity bills down.

Use Caulk to Seal Air Leakage

If your rooms are not properly sealed warm air can easily come inside to make it harder for your air conditioner to cool the room. There are often leaks in doors and windows that allow cool air to escape from inside the rooms. You can easily seal these leaks with the help of a knife and a caulk gun. It is a very inexpensive exercise but very effective in reducing your energy bills by 10-20% every month.

Thermostat That Can be Programmed

Why take the pains of changing the settings of the thermostat to lower your energy bills when there are available smart thermostats?  A Nest is a great unit for STR units, as you can control them remotely through your phone.  These thermostats sense the cooling requirement and send alerts on your smartphone, too. You can adjust settings from wherever you are to keep the interiors of your vacation rental comfortable, allowing your guests to take control during their stay and you or your staff when the unit is unoccupied. You can easily increase the temperature by a few degrees during night-time as it is cool during that time to lower your electricity bills.

Consider Replacing Your Old Air Conditioner

If your air conditioner in the vacation rental has become quite old, it will continue to work but with much-reduced efficiency, meaning just running an older unit can add money to your monthly utility bill.  Older units eat up more electricity and not work at optimal efficiency.  It might be time to replace your old A/C with a new one that is more energy-efficient. Aged air conditioning systems not only become less efficient, but you are also required to spend lots of money on their maintenance.

Other Ways to Save

You can also reduce your electricity bills on air conditioning by planting green trees and shrubs in your lawn and outside the property.  Also, window shades can help you save energy while some provide security at the same time.  Electric companies sometimes have free services where a local representative walks through your home with you and shows you ways to save.  Try them.  They’re free.

Now go and grow! 

Michelle R Russell

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