Cooling Off Your Summer Cooling Costs

Summertime brings with it higher temperatures and higher cooling costs.  And these days, cooling costs are sky high.  Therefore, I have some tips to help you chill off without overheating your wallet. 

Tips for cooling your home for lower costs:

Placement of unit - Whether it's a portable or an outside unit, air conditioners should be placed in a shady spot. That way, the unit doesn't have to work as hard.

Size matters - Buy the right sized unit. If a unit is too small, it won't cool enough. If a unit is too big, it won't pull all the humidity out of the air, creating a muggy atmosphere in your home.

Humid days - On humid days, keep the fan on low. Pulling air slowly through the unit allows it to pull more humidity out of the air, helping keep the air cooler.

Air filters - Clean the air filters once a month, 3 months, 6 months or 1 year.  Check to see how often your unit requires changing and change it on time every time.  If you have an outdoor unit, make sure to clean around it to get rid of debris and leaves.

Use fans - Try using portable and/or ceiling fans. This allows your body to believe it is cooler so you can set the temperature on your a/c unit higher. But, don't leave these on all the time or it defeats the savings.

Lights that heat - Replace your regular light bulbs with CFL lights. They don't get as hot as regular bulbs and don't increase the temperature of your house, easing the work your a/c unit has to do to cool down the air temperature. At $5/year energy savings, a typical house can save $225 per year for 45 light bulbs.

- Keep blinds and drapes closed. Less sun exposure through the windows means less heat getting through.

These cooling tips are brought to you by: Tom Kile