How to Save Money On Air Conditiong Cost This Summer

Keeping your home cool during the hot months of the year can definitely have a drastic impact on your monthly electricity bill.

No one likes a hot and stuffy house especially during a heat wave, this article will give you some great insights how to cool your house efficiently while keeping your electricity bills at bay.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. If you have an older model air conditioner consider replacing your older model with a new energy efficient model. Though it will cost you more in the short run the energy savings in the long run could quite well be worth it.
   Your air conditioner is a huge energy hog and any way you can reduce that consumption will always save you more money in the long haul.

2. If purchasing a new air conditioner is out of the question. Consider Planting more trees around the external areas of the house that get the most sun exposure. Chances are the shade that the trees provide will act as a barrier to the rooms adjacent to the walls and drastically reduce the rooms ambient temperature.
   
   In addition if those rooms have windows consider using darker drapes to absorb the heat that comes through the windows.

3. Most homes loose a lot of cooling ability because the hot air is stagnant. Running a ceiling fan helps circulate air thus making it easier to cool the house. A trick that I've learned is that if you get a cooler and fill it with ice you can place it beneath the fan. As the fan blows on the ice it will circulate the cool air and evenly distribute the hot air lowering the humidity and temperature of the room.

4. Generally you will not be in every room of your house so technically it does not make sense to cool every room in the house. My suggestion is to close doors and or vents to the areas that don't have a lot of traffic.
   This lowers the amount of space that needs to be cooled in addition to making it easier and faster to cool the areas that need cooling.
   
   In addition if you have central heat and air lower your thermostat when you are home and increase the thermostat when you are away. Try to keep the temperature roughly 15 to 20 degrees from where you feel comfortable as it is cheaper and faster to cool a house that isn't as hot.

5. As you can see there are many ways cool your house without having to take a loan out to pay your monthly electricity bill. Below are some great resources to get more ideas on other ways to save money on air conditioning cost this summer.

Resources

• eHow Home and Garden Topic Guide
• Save Money On AC Cost
• Ask Mr Electricity
• DIY to Saving Money On AC

[cjsroro]

on 6/14/2009 Great tips, well written article. Step # 4 great tip, I do it and it really helps. 5* & rec.

[ezyas123]

on 6/12/2009 Excellent article, thanks for sharing!