Prepare Your Home Now to Save Big Money on Cooling Bills Later

As summer approaches, so do the dreaded days of unbearable heat and the cost of trying to stay cool. There are things you can do to keep the cooling bills down and stay cool without the air conditioning being on all the time.

1. Set your air conditioner one or two degrees higher at night so that it will still keep your home cool to allow you to have a good night's sleep but won't run constantly.
2. Set your air conditioner two to three degrees higher during the day so that it will only come on during the very hot hours of the day.
3. Cover any windows that let in the hot sun with room darkening shades or blinds, and leave them closed while the sun is on them. This will keep a lot of excess heat from penetrating into the house …
4. … Or install awnings on the windows to keep the sun from penetrating into your home while still enabling you to enjoy having your window dressings open.
5. Install ceiling fans and keep them on low speed to maintain a constant circulation of the air. This allows the air to move and not become stuffy, and keeps the air cooler so that the air conditioning won't come on as often.
6. You can also keep the fan to the furnace turned on so that the air inside your home stays constantly circulated.
7. Turn your computers and televisions off unless you are using them. They can heat up a room all by themselves if they are left on for hours at a time.
8. Hang your clothes up to dry and avoid using the dryer as much as possible because even though it's vented outside, it still heats up the room. Use the dryer at night when the sun is down, and the air is cooler.
9. Avoid using the oven for cooking meals because it is like a furnace and heats up the kitchen quickly, causing the air conditioning to come on to combat the heat. A small convectional oven is excellent for cooking most meals - except large turkeys - and it doesn't heat up the room, and it costs considerably less to use than the regular oven.
10. Keep a small kiddie pool filled with a few inches of cool water so that the kids can play in it during the day and keep cool.
11. Plant shade trees in your yard if possible, to keep the sun from penetrating onto your house and in through your windows.
12. Keep all the windows closed and try to keep the use of the doors down to a minimum to prevent the waves of heat from entering your home.
13. Install a programmable thermostat so that you can set the temperature and leave it there. Often when setting it manually we forget to set it back up and the air conditioner comes on a lot more often.
14. Save your rigorous chores for the evening when the sun goes down. For example, doing a physical workout during the heat of the day not only heats you up but it heats the room you worked in.
15. Drink as much cool - but not cold - water as possible to prevent any dehydration. It also keeps you cool inside so that you can tolerate the warmer temperatures better.
16. Use cotton sheets on your beds because they are cooler to sleep on than fleece or rayon or most other materials.
17. If you have a two level house, cover the lower level air vents so that the cool air is forced upstairs. This will ensure cool air gets to the higher level and since cool air falls, it will keep the lower level cool, as well. This helps keep all the air cool and limits the use of the air conditioner.

These suggestions will not only help to keep the cooling expense down, but they will help to prevent those summer colds that the air conditioners tend to bring on.