5 Ways to Save Electricity During Summer
Easy
I reduce my home's electricity use by 32% in a year long project. Here are some ideas how we lowered our electric bill in summer without sweating to death or doing without air conditioning.
- Open the windows on opposite side of the room to create a cross breeze to cool the room on cooler days.
- Try not to run the air conditioning until the temperature reaches 85 degrees. When we do run it we keep the AC set to 74 degrees.
- Use fans to cool hotter rooms/areas of the house instead of adjusting the air conditioning to a colder setting for the entire house.
- Keep the curtains closed on south facing rooms closed to keep the sun from warming up those rooms.
- Install solar window shades on the north facing windows of the house to allow sunlight into the rooms during the day and also keep UV light and heat from warming up the room.
- Open the windows on opposite side of the room to create a cross breeze to cool the room on cooler days.
- Try not to run the air conditioning until the temperature reaches 85 degrees. When we do run it we keep the AC set to 74 degrees.
- Use fans to cool hotter rooms/areas of the house instead of adjusting the air conditioning to a colder setting for the entire house.
- Keep the curtains closed on south facing rooms closed to keep the sun from warming up those rooms.
- Install solar window shades on the north facing windows of the house to allow sunlight into the rooms during the day and also keep UV light and heat from warming up the room.
New habits keep our home running on 15 Kwh of electricity a day without sitting in the dark.
Solar window shades allow sunlight into north facing rooms while keeping the heat out.
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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2 of 23 comments
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All these suggestions, I have been doing for years with pleasant results. Unfortunately, my power company was acquired by a different company sometime last year, and they *doubled* the rates. (Yes, disgustingly, actually more than doubled - I compared their per wattage costs this year with previous.) My (and friends also) winter power bill was above $400/mo! WA state, heat pump. Winter power expense had never exceeded $100/month before. Similar temp. settings as suggested by Kathy above (60º-85º), as well as the clothing layers. Can't win, no matter what. Maranatha!
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Living in San Antonio, Texas, it's just too darn hot to NOT have high electric bills!!
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