‘Summer Blues’
During the summer, the heat can spiral out of control! Hot, especially HOT HUMID air can make you move into a cooler! Occasional trips to the swimming pool, combined with ice creams and ice cold shakes, are some of the things that keep us cool during the heat laden atmosphere. It is unbearable to be in a house without any cold air blowing; it’s almost as if you are literally baking in an oven!
The air conditioner is a wonderful, powerful invention and it is superb in supplying cold, splendid air, but it will run up a bill you can’t even start to imagine, so in order to keep Summer Energy bills low, one can implement some useful ways for saving energy, so that you don’t have to end up paying thousands of dollars in a mere season of summer. These are ways that also won’t compromise your ‘coolness’ and at the same time, help you in saving money.
What are some of the ways?
1) Alternate the Air conditioner with fans
To keep Summer Energy bills low, don’t have the air conditioner on all day. During less hot days, you can switch it off and turn on a small fan or ceiling fan. Why?
- Personal and ceiling fans are more effective and you will be able to remain cooler, as opposed to a huge fan sitting across the room. A box fan can also come in handy while sitting in the living room.
- The fan in general, uses less energy and that is the initial goal of why you are using it in the first place. It is not good for the air conditioner to be running all the time.
2) Close you blinds or curtains on a hot day
Sunlight will bring make a room hot, so block out the sunlight by closing your blinds. This way, you keep the room cooler. It will also keep summer energy bills low by switching off the Air conditioner and opening a few windows. You are particularly lucky in this case, if you live in a storey house. You can open all the top level windows and shut off the air conditioner. The higher you go, the cooler it becomes, so some good circulation will get going in all the rooms of the house.
Use the ‘light of day’
Similarly, you can let some of the light in, depending on where your window is situated so that you don’t have to switch on the lights to get on with your household chores. Let a few rays of the sun in which are enough to supply light. Fewer lights that are on in the house keep summer energy bills low as well.
3) Turn off the Air conditioner at night
During night time, on some days, the temperature falls considerably, so it is during this time that you take advantage of Mother Nature and turn off your air conditioner. Open your windows and you will save good money and energy in doing so. It is a great way to keep summer energy bills low.
4) Have Cookouts every chance you get
The more you cook in your house, the hotter it gets, especially if you’re baking or broiling, since you have to use the oven. There is nothing worse than a house that is already hot to be inhibited by more heat. It also makes the air conditioner work harder than it normally would. Cooking outside would:-
- Save a lot of air conditioner power if you had outside cookouts every so often.
- Have fun time with your family while doing it. Cook foods that do not require the stove; just the grill. That will keep summer energy bills low since you and your whole family are outside.
5) Using Cold Water for everything
To keep summer Energy bills low, use cold water for day to day chores. You don’t have to use hot water for showering neither, because it will be a relief to use cold water on a hot day anyway.
Have beverages and juices all in cold water. (Unless for far much greasier utensils that you have to wash) use cold water for washing dishes too.
6) Let the ‘outside’ be your friend during summer
This is the most ideal way of conserving energy. The air conditioner will not be on if you are all outside. Take walks often, visit the museum or zoo. Have a go at having picnics every so often. You can find numerous outdoor activities that you and your family can do during the summer.
Being outdoors also helps in saving the lights and anything else that uses electricity. Before you leave the house, make sure that you turn off the Air conditioner and anything else that might be on.