If you look online long enough, you'll find a lot of "tips" to help you save money on your air conditioning bill. Unfortunately, a lot of these tips are wrong - and could end up costing you more money by damaging your system of making it run more than it should. Here are three of the most common AC bill saving "tips" you want to make sure you avoid.

False Tip #1: Closing all vents in empty rooms will make the other rooms cool faster

The misconception that you should close vents in empty rooms is pretty common. After all, it makes sense on the surface. Less air in empty rooms means more air in the used rooms, right? Unfortunately, air conditioning systems don't work that way. Once the air is pumped, the energy has been used. By closing off unused vents, all you're doing is causing a dam that blocks air and cools the inside of your vents. And you could end up damaging your system thanks to the constant "on/off" cycle. If you only want to cool certain parts of your home, consider a "zoned" system.

False Tip #2: Turn off the air conditioner while you're at work so the system isn't running when you're not there

Again, this is one that makes sense. If nobody's home, why pay to cool the air? It's best to let you system run though, because if you turn it completely off, the house will likely warm up to a point that it takes much more energy to cool back down than it would have to maintain a constant temperature. And turning your system off means you come back to a hot house. If you want to adjust your system a little though, you can bump it up 6 to 8 degrees. Using a programmable thermostat would be your best bet here, so you can lower the settings on a warm day and still have your home comfortable when you come back.

False Tip #3: Leaving ceiling fans on all day will help the AC run less

Ceiling fans can certainly make a room feel cooler, but did you know they don't actually lower the temperature in a room? Fans only lower how a temperature feels against human skin thanks to sweat. The air generated from a fan helps water on the skin evaporate faster, leaving a cooling feeling. So if a room is empty, don't leave the fan running because you're just wasting energy.

If you want to save money on your air conditioning bill, one of the best things you can do is have your system regularly serviced by a professional. A tune up once a year can find small problems before they become large ones, and can make sure your system is running as efficiently as possible.