Keep Your Economic Cool This Summer
photo credit: striatic
Summer is here, and with it, the muggy, unbearable heat. Fortunately, summer temperatures don’t have to equal unmanageable electric bills, because there are several ways to stay cool without breaking the bank.
- Use your A/C wisely: In the cooler rooms of your house, seal off your air conditioning vents and close the door - there’s no reason to pay for a/c where you don’t need it. In the rooms that do, make sure you don’t put heat-generating appliances, like lamps or the television, next to your thermostat.
- Weather-proof your home: To best economize on your air conditioning investment, caulk your windows and weather strip your home - you don’t want to let all that expensive air seep out of your home.
- Landscape with the heat in mind: Placing a few shade-bearing trees near the sunniest parts of your home will go a long way towards reducing your heat problem. At the same time, be careful to keep shrubs and trees away from your a/c units, as they could block air flow.
- Circulate air the cheap way: Ceiling fans will work wonders will cool air, helping circulate it throughout your home, keeping everyone cool. Plus, fresh air on your face always helps you feel cool, reducing your heat frustration.
- Use a programmable thermostat: Set your thermostat to cool during low-cost energy hours, or to shut off while no one is at home.
For more energy-saving tips, see MSNBC’s 10 ways to stay cool and save money.
Tags: energy | Saving Money | Summer | Utilities
This entry was posted on Sunday, July 20th, 2008 at 3:30 am and is filed under Saving Money. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
