How To Save Money On Air Conditioning Bills

Do You Need To Save Money On Your Air Conditioning This Summer?

Stay Cool. Save Money.

I live where the summer heat is just about unbearable from late May to September. While our winter heating bills our modest, we all expect a big spike every summer. I have had neighbors who have gotten summer bills that were almost as high as their mortgage payments.

 But rather than just accepting these as a fact of life, we can take some steps to realize some incredible savings. Our strategy is always to stay comfortable while reducing energy consumption. We also wanted to concentrate on simple tips that you can do without spending a lot of extra money.

Save Money on AC!

You may want to hop over to energy.gov – the US Department of Energy’s website. They really do post some great tips to help us conserve electricity and gasoline consumption. I always like to point out these federal websites when I find them. After all, our tax dollars help pay for them, they are free to use, and we might as well take advantage of them!

Simple Tips To Stay Cool

• Can you set your thermostat to 78 degrees when you are home and up over eighty degrees when nobody is home? Experts estimate that we can save 3% of our energy usage for each degree of cooling. So if you had set your thermostat up from 75 to 78 degrees, those three degrees may save 10 percent! If you can set the dial even higher when everybody is at work or camp, you can save more. Consider a $300 A/C bill (which is modest where I live).  A modest ten percent savings will add up to $100 over the 3 hottest months of the summer.
• Use fans to circulate air and make your home feel more comfortable. Portable fans cost $20 to $100, depending upon how fancy they are. If they allow you to set your thermostat higher, they should pay for themselves in no time. Is there a room that gets used a lot in your home? Consider installing a ceiling fan. It wil allow you to feel cooler at a higher temperature, and will save you money for years.
• Close drapes and closet doors. Windows are a big energy leak in the summer. And you do not need to pay extra to cool off closets that you use a few minutes every day. Besides, many closets are placed on the outside of homes, so closing that door can help provide another buffer against the heat outside.
• Close off unused rooms. Why are you cooling off your junk room or vacated bedrooms? If you are home, but kids are away at camp, close the doors and air conditioning vents. It will only take a few minutes to open them up when the kids get back!

Many people can cut their summer electric bills with these simple tips. Get more summertime energy savings at the Save-Elot.com website.

DIY Adventures In Energy Savings

Are you ready to take more drastic steps to save money on utility bills. Some of these can require an investment, but should pay off within a pretty short time.

• Here is information on making solar panels to conserve energy and cut bills. If you are a “do it yourself” type of person, you can learn more about Do It Yourself Solar Power.
• There are also tips in DIY home made wind power articles.
• Some people do use these techniques to reduce “on grid” power usage, and some even produce enough power to enable them to sell power back to the grid. A negative power bill sounds great.
• If this sounds like more of a project than you care to take on, you may just want to shop around for better rates and plans from local power companies. I just signed up with one, from my local company, that guarantees lower rates and promises that, at least, twenty percent of my power comes from wind sources.

Do you have any great tips on how to reduce summer cooling bills and conserve energy? You can jump down to the comments section and register for free to post your comments. We do approve comments, but we love to publish great tips!

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