With fuel prices escalating, which in turn increases the cost of power, you may not be in a hurry to turn on your air conditioner. Still, your home is the one place that you and your family should feel the most comfortable, so you will need to find alternatives to keep your home cool as the temperatures rise.
Here are a few tips:
Try to avoid using the oven on hot days. Consider purchasing a toaster oven, which will quickly cook many items that are normally prepared in the oven, without heating up the whole kitchen. Other alternatives are to serve cold foods or to cook outdoors on the grill.
Try using fans to bring the temperature down before heading straight for the air conditioner. Sometimes just moving the air around makes a big difference. You can also put a fan in a window to draw in cool breezes from outside and to circulate fresh air throughout your home. Utilize exhaust fans throughout the house to pull humid air out and to help circulate cool air being pulled in by fans.
It is also a good idea to keep sunlight from causing the temperature inside your home to rise. Closing the drapes will help somewhat, but if you’d still like the benefit of some sunlight filtering in, try using heat-reflective window film. It is easy to install and it is far less costly than running your air conditioning. It will pay for itself in no time with the money you’ll save on electric bills.
There are days that will be so hot that air conditioning is necessary. To help keep costs down even while running the air conditioner, make sure it is in good condition before it is needed. Have it inspected if necessary, check and clean filters, and make sure your thermostat is accurate, to insure optimum performance.