15 Tips to Saving
Money when Keeping Cool
The
news and weather forecasters have been calling for some very hot weather across
the country in the next few days. That means many people are going to be
cranking up the air conditioning in an effort to try and stay cool, and that
usually makes for higher electric bills in the summer. It is possible to keep cool
while still trying to save on electric costs during the hot summer time. Listed
below you will find my fifteen tips for keeping cool when the temperatures rise.
Take advantage of cooler weather: If the area where
you live cools off in the evening, take advantage of this to cool off your
entire house. Open windows and doors with screens to bring the inside
temperature down and facilitate cross breezes. Put fans in
the windows to pull cool air in and hot air out of the house. In the morning, close up your house and
draw blinds and drapes closed, so the house stays dark and cool. If you have blinds,
close them or angle them upwards. That way, light is reflected up and into the
room and direct rays of the sun are not let in.
Remember that shade is a
wonderful tool to use to keep heat to a minimum. Keep the sun from hitting your windows and doors. Curtains will help on
the inside, but you can also use
the Mylar covered auto sun shades to cover an outside window that is in direct
sunlight during the heat of the day. Outdoor awnings or louvers can reduce the
heat entering the house by as much as 80%. Inexpensive bamboo shades that roll-up
and down are another way to keep your doors shady. We have four bamboo shades
on our back porch and we pull them down during the hottest parts of the day to
keep the back of the house cooler. Trees can also be planted to provide shade
to help keep your home cooler.
Keep the air moving around inside. Fans are another
tool you can use to keep your house cooler in the summer. Ceiling fans help to create
breezes in the house during the day and night and can make an entire room feel
cooler. High velocity vans are an easy way to move large amounts of air around
a room efficiently, which also helps the air conditioner work more efficiently,
so you can actually set the thermostat temperature higher than would be the
case without the fans. Also, make sure you clean your air conditioning filters,
so they will work more efficiently.
Close off rooms you are not using. If
you’re not using a room, close the vents and the doors. Same goes
for closets,
storage rooms, and bathrooms. Also, close the door to the basement, and down
any stairwells. Remember that heat rises while cold air falls, so if you have a
basement and you have the door open, cold air from upstairs will actually fall
down the stairs where you don’t need it.
Spend your time in the coolest area of the house. That may be a
basement or a smaller room where the windows can catch a breeze or a window air
conditioner has less space to cool, which makes that room cooler than larger
rooms in the house. Basements are usually 10-15 degrees cooler than the
upstairs part of the house. My sister’s house has a basement in it and when we
visit there during the summer we spend a lot of time there because it is much
cooler than the upstairs portion of her house.
Stay hydrated. Your body needs water to keep cool, so
make sure you drink plenty of fluids even if you don't feel thirsty. Your body
is designed to cool itself and if you stay hydrated, your body will do its job more
efficiently than if you become dehydrated.
Dress for the season. Go barefoot or wear sandals and keep the
socks and tennis shoes for cooler weather. Wear lighter weight fabrics and shorts
with a sleeveless shirt. Or consider wearing your swimsuit. One summer when I
first lived on my own in a small house with no air conditioning, the weather
was miserably hot. I stayed in my swimsuit when I was not working and would
often take a cold shower and then go outside to dry off in the shade, which
made the heat more bearable. Use the water hose or use a spray bottle of water to
give yourself a spritz of cool water every once in a while.
Minimize heat buildup inside the house. Do all that you can do
in order to not add to the heat of the house during the day when temperatures
are at their highest. Ovens, computers,
lamps, washers, dryers, and dishwashers can all act like mini-space heaters and
can put out
large amounts of heat in your rooms. Run appliances either late at night or
early in the morning and not during the heat of the day. Use electrical power strips to plug your
electronic devices into, so you can turn off the switch when not in use because
many electronics give off heat.
Turn off the lights. A traditional 60 watt incandescent bulb can
heat a small room as much as five degrees in one hour while a 100 watts bulb
can heat the room as much as 11 degrees in an hour. While CFL's are much better
than traditional bulbs at heating up, they do still put off some heat, so turn
them off when you don't need them.
One of the biggest contributors to indoor heat and humidity
is cooking.
Feel free to cook
outside during the summer. I can remember many days cooking dinner outside with
my Grandmother during the summer. She had a whole kitchen set up outside. Use your gas or charcoal grill to cook
outside and keep the heat out of your home. If you do have to cook inside, Use small appliances like electric
skillets and crock pots to your advantage; they maintain low temperatures well
and release almost no heat into the kitchen. Remember, air conditioners have to work harder to deal with
the excess heat and humidity created by cooking indoors. If you’ve ever turned
your oven on during a hot summer day then you know what I’m talking about.
Plan ahead and eat cooler meals to save energy. Pay attention to the weather forecast and take
advantage of the cooler days to prepare a few extra meals and stash them in the
freezer. You can then cook that food in your microwave when faced with a hot
spell rather than heating up the house with the oven. Eat foods such as salads,
fruits, sandwiches, crackers and cheeses instead of heating up the house rather
than cook a more traditional meal.
Install a programmable
thermostat.
These devices regulate the temperature in your house automatically according to
the schedule that you set. Thus, when you’re not home, it allows the heating or
cooling to turn off for several hours, saving you on your energy bill. A
programmable thermostat can easily cut your energy bill by 10 to 20%.
Check your home for air
leaks. Most homes have some air
leaks that make the job of keeping it cool in summer much harder. In the
summertime, heat can leak into homes through cracks and openings around the
house, and around window air conditioning units. Adding caulk, foam and weather
stripping around doors, windows, and air conditioners can help to prevent these
leaks.
Use
cold water to help stay cool.
Run your wrists under a cold tap for five seconds, which will help your body to
stay cool. Place a wet washcloth in a Ziploc baggie and stick it in the freezer.
Pull it out when you feel hot and wipe your face and arms and hands off, which
will make your feel cooler immediately. When I was growing up, we always took a
few baggies of wet washcloths with us when we were going anywhere.
Consider
running a dehumidifier. Getting
the humidity level in your house lower is like a magic bullet, which will allow
you to raise the temperature on your air conditioning unit and thus save money.
There you have it, my 15 tips to stay
cool while still trying to save money in the process. Hopefully, when you open
your electric bill this summer you will have a pleasant surprise. Remember, do
what you can, with what you have, where you are, and stay cool this summer.
What tips do you have for saving money during
the hot days of summer?
Belinda
© Belinda Richardson and Frugal Workshop, 2012 to Infinity.
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”
