Close the blinds: Windows can let in about 25 percent of summer heat. Block the heat with shades or blinds during the sunniest hours to keep your home cool sans air conditioning.
Keep the air moving: Instead of turning on the air conditioner, flick on a fan. The breeze created by a ceiling or floor fan makes your body feel cooler, even when the temperature is relatively high. If it’s really hot, you can still save energy by raising the air conditioner’s thermostat 3-5 degrees above your normal setting and running the ceiling fan along with it.
Insulate your attic and walls: Many of the things that help keep your home warmer in the winter also help keep your home cooler in the summer. For example, insulation: it lowers energy bills by keeping the cool air in and the heat out. Insulation can be surprisingly inexpensive, too.
Strip in the cool: Weather stripping is in the same category: it’s thought of as a winter measure, but is equally helpful in summer, as it keeps cool air from escaping through doors and windows. Weather stripping is very inexpensive and doesn’t take much time to install; you can strip the area around a door in less than half an hour.
Bake and wash at night: Large appliances give off significant amounts of heat. Save the operation of ovens, ranges, dishwashers, and clothes washers and dryers for evening hours when cooler temperatures will offset their output.
Are you looking to cut energy costs around the house? Follow these easy tips to save cash and help green your energy bill.
Consider a dehumidifier: Moist heat is much more uncomfortable for people and pets than dry heat. Dehumidifiers suck the moisture out of balmy summer air in your home, making it much more comfortable, even at higher temperatures. Ideally, keep indoor humidity under 60 per cent. To save on electricity costs, use a unit that turns off when humidity drops below your targeted level. Use the water gathered by the humidifier to water your plants.
Shut doors to unused rooms: If you absolutely must use your air conditioner, confine the coolness to where it’s most needed-rooms that you spend most of your day in or bedrooms at night. Shut doors to areas that do not need to be cooled.
Keep the air moving: Instead of turning on the air conditioner, flick on a fan. The breeze created by a ceiling or floor fan makes your body feel cooler, even when the temperature is relatively high. If it’s really hot, you can still save energy by raising the air conditioner’s thermostat 3-5 degrees above your normal setting and running the ceiling fan along with it.
Insulate your attic and walls: Many of the things that help keep your home warmer in the winter also help keep your home cooler in the summer. For example, insulation: it lowers energy bills by keeping the cool air in and the heat out. Insulation can be surprisingly inexpensive, too.
Strip in the cool: Weather stripping is in the same category: it’s thought of as a winter measure, but is equally helpful in summer, as it keeps cool air from escaping through doors and windows. Weather stripping is very inexpensive and doesn’t take much time to install; you can strip the area around a door in less than half an hour.
Bake and wash at night: Large appliances give off significant amounts of heat. Save the operation of ovens, ranges, dishwashers, and clothes washers and dryers for evening hours when cooler temperatures will offset their output.
Are you looking to cut energy costs around the house? Follow these easy tips to save cash and help green your energy bill.
Consider a dehumidifier: Moist heat is much more uncomfortable for people and pets than dry heat. Dehumidifiers suck the moisture out of balmy summer air in your home, making it much more comfortable, even at higher temperatures. Ideally, keep indoor humidity under 60 per cent. To save on electricity costs, use a unit that turns off when humidity drops below your targeted level. Use the water gathered by the humidifier to water your plants.
Shut doors to unused rooms: If you absolutely must use your air conditioner, confine the coolness to where it’s most needed-rooms that you spend most of your day in or bedrooms at night. Shut doors to areas that do not need to be cooled.