There are many ways to reduce your summer cooling costs without reducing your comfort level.
Replace dirty air filters once a month. This is one of the most inexpensive things you can do to improve the energy efficiency of your cooling system. Air filters save you money on your energy bill as well as filtering the air that you breathe in. Clean air filters will prolong the life of your cooling system by preventing dust and dirt to accumulate on coils, fans and motors of your air-conditioning unit.
Adjust your Thermostat
Adjusting the thermostat on your cooling system can drastically reduce your energy bill. You can use ceiling fans to circulate the air flow around the room also reducing excessive running of your cooling unit. Most electric companies suggest setting your summer thermostat to 78ºF. Even a small adjustment of your thermostat of 2ºF in summer will save you 10% in air conditioning energy consumption.
Electrical Appliances
Energy Star appliances should be purchased for new homes and replacements.
- Run dishwashers, washing machines, clothes dryers at night when it is cooler in summer to avoid overheating the kitchen and laundry.
- Make sure you run the dishwasher and washing machine on a full load.
- Remove lint from the clothes dryer after each load has finished, this will maximize your airflow and dryer efficiency and prevent overheating your appliance.
- If you can, hang a portable clothes line outside in the sun and air dry your whites by the sunlight. Wash colored clothes in cold water whenever possible, it is better for your clothes and cold water won’t ‘set’ stains like hot water does.
- Limit the amount of soap or detergent you use too, as oversudsing makes your washing machine work much harder.
Saving Energy Costs in the Kitchen
Keep your refrigerator’s temperature between 37ºF-40ºF and your freezer setting at 0ºF.
Do not overload your refrigerator and freezer, this will reduce air flow and make your equipment work harder to keep food cold.
If you have to cook on the stove or in the oven in summer, it is preferable to cook in large batches on one or two days of the week, rather than heating up the kitchen daily for small amounts of food. Outdoor grills make a great alternative, or making salads and cold dishes in summer work well too. Your microwave can cook anything your oven can, and doesn’t heat up the room as much as a big oven.
High humidity makes our bodies retain heat. Do your housework in the coolest part of the day.
Reduce Drafts
Caulking and weather stripping your home can drastically reduce energy consumption. Small cracks under doors and around windows can waste a lot of energy and money each month.
Keep exterior doors closed as much as possible, every time the door is left open, you are throwing money away and causing your cooling system to overwork and run longer.
Use light colored blinds and insulated drapery as dark colors absorb heat.
If your house is located in a sunny position, you can close the blinds or drapes during the day to keep your house cooler longer. This is very efficient if you go off to work for 8-10 hours a day, you will have a much cooler house when you return.
You can also use a timer on your thermostat so it is not running on high all day.
Turn off the television and the light when you leave the room.
LIGHTS
- Use fluorescent lighting is more economical than incandescent lighting.
- Use a table lamp to read instead of the big overhead light.
- Living room lamps with a three switch function are also more economical, you can have a dimly lit room for watching television at night rather than big blazing lights.
- Use a dimmer switch at night or lower wattage light bulbs.
- Use night lights instead of leaving the hall light on at night. They are a lot lower wattage and still do the job.
Make sure you have adequate attic insulation; it can save you 30% on your energy costs.
Swimming pool owners can set their pool to run on an overnight timer when not in use during the cooler hours of the day.
Unplugged
Unplug electrical items, toasters, radios, lights, phone chargers, video games, electronic game chargers that are not being used. Turn off televisions, computers, printers and radios at night.
Do not run spare empty fridges and freezers if they are not being used.
Personal Tips for Keeping Cool:
- Wear light colored clothing during summer and you won’t retain as much heat as wearing dark colors.
- If you do not have to go to work, wash your hair in the morning and leave it damp instead of blow-drying it dry; it will keep you cool for hours.
- While most of us do not like to sweat in summer, it is our body’s natural defense mechanism and actually cools your body down faster than sitting in air conditioning all day.
- Make sure you drink plenty of fluids and keep hydrated.
- Use ceiling fans wherever possible in addition to your air-conditioning.
- Use a small desk fan at the office
You don’t have to install expensive equipment or machinery to make a big impact on your energy bills. The utility companies often increase their rates in summer to offset the additional demand of consumption. There is nothing we can do about increasing costs, we can however, modify and control our energy consumption.
Kathy Duff - Published Writer, Photographer, Award Winning Songwriter, Artist & Designer... learning to be my best self and helping others with the ...
