Summer is here, and for many of us that means saying goodbye to sweaters and long sleeves and hello to tank tops, shorts, and flip flops. Although summer clothes are fun and on most days keep us fairly cool and comfortable, there are days when it is very hot outside and you need something more than breezy clothes to keep you cool. There are even some days when it can get dangerously hot and keeping cool becomes less about comfort and more about safety.
Air conditioners are a very good way to keep your home cool, but they add quite a bit to your electric bill. If you do use air conditioners to cool your home, there are a few things that you can do to help keep your cooling costs as low as possible. One thing to consider is the location of the air conditioning unit or units. If one or more of your air conditioners is exposed to direct sunlight, it has to work harder (and use more energy) to cool your home than if you move it to a shaded spot.
If you are like many people, summertime means grilling time. You may want to rely on your grill for cooking as often as you can, because using a stove or oven indoors creates a source of heat in the house that makes air conditioners work even harder to keep the temperature down. You can also try making no-cook meals on very hot days, or cooking dinner early in the day when it is cooler out and then heating individual portions in the microwave later on.
Just as programmable thermostats can keep heating costs in check during the winter, they can keep cooling costs down in the summer. Whether you have central air or use window units, set the thermostats to a higher temperature when you are not at home. A difference as small as two degrees can lower your cooling costs up to 14%.
When you spend less money on cooling your home, there is more money left over for other summer pleasures, such as ice cream. Lots of ice cream.
Photo by simonfilm on morguefile.com.