Reduce Air Conditioning Costs
With summer heat here in full force, the air conditioners are on, and it is time to think about reducing the cost of running the air conditioner. (I could hold out no longer. The air has been on in our house a few times in the last couple weeks.)
1. Bump Up the Temperature.
We keep our air set on 82 F. That may sound warm, but when the outside temperature is in the 90's, 82 F feels wonderful! It also keeps the a/c unit running enough to take the humidity out of the house. 82 F may not be for everyone, but try nudging your thermostat up a few degrees. If that is comfortable for you, nudge it up a bit more. You'll appreciate the difference in your electric bill.
2. Use Fans
Keep the ceiling fans moving in the right direction. I also use box fans to help keep the air moving. The air flow will let you feel comfortable at higher temperatures. It costs a lot less to run a fan than an air conditioner. Don't forget about the fans in range hoods. Use these to exhaust the hot air generated if you must cook. I will also use a window fan, blowing out, to help take the heat out of the kitchen if I need to do a lot of cooking. Use the exhaust fan in the bathroom while showering too.
3. Avoid Producing Heat
Avoid cooking, using your clothes dryer, ironing, and running the dishwasher during the day. Keep lights off when possible. Try to complete these activities early in the morning, or later in the evening. Hang your clothes on the line. Cook in the microwave, on the grill or a crock pot placed in the garage.
4. Close It Up
During the day, make sure the windows and doors are all closed. Avoid coming in and out a lot. Close the blinds and curtains to help keep the out the hot sun.
5. Take Advantage of Cool Nights
Open the house back up and pull in the fresh cool night air.
There are a few quick tips to help reduce your air conditioning costs this summer. What else do you do? Feel free to leave more tips in the comments or write your own post and give us the link!
frugal, 
summer, 
air conditioning
Labels:
utilities
3 comments:
We don't have air conditioning, but I never thought of putting my crock pot in the garage. Great idea! I may also try putting it out on our front porch. Hmmmm....
Thanks for the idea!
To give credit where it is due. . . I believe I read that over at Frugal Upstate.
I strongly suggest finding out and trying exterior solar shades.
They fit on the outside of the full east, south and west facing windows to significantly reduce the amount of the sun's UV rays that even reach the window, let alone enter the house.
We installed them this year and they reduced by 15 degrees F the reading on our temperature guage, yet we can still see out side very, very well.
If you would like to see what these are like and the view from the inside, here is a posting on our blog that contains lots of pictures.
http://dailyhomerenotips.com/2008/05/04/exterior-solar-blinds-part-7-installation-results-from-the-inside/
These things really, really work.
Dan
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