8 Easy Ways to Keep Home Cooling Costs Down

With the economy being down, many of us are trying to maximize the return on every dollar we spend. Since Air Conditioning is going to be the highest contributor to your electricity costs over the next several months, we thought it would be good to publish a quick and easy series of ways you can Save Money on Cooling You Home this Summer!

8 Ways to Cut The Cost of Cooling Your Home!

Keep Doors and Windows Closed
I realize this sounds obvious, but even the 5 minutes you leave the door open while the dog is outside or you run to the mailbox, wastes energy and increases the cost to cool your home! Keep your doors and windows closed as much as possible!
Close the Shades or Curtains on the Sunny Side!
Nobody likes sitting in a dark home, but the sunlight streaming through your windows is doing more than lighting the room, it's heating the room! Just hold your hand under a lightbulb and you can feel the heat being generated! Closing the shades or curtains on the sunny side of the home can make a big difference in cooling costs!
Seal The Drafts around Doors and Windows
$20 in the hardware store can save you hundreds over the course of a long hot summer! Replacing worn out weatherstripping around doors and windows is a very inexpensive way to seal your home and keep that warm out during the hot months! As a side benefit, it also saves on heating costs during the winter!
Close your Fireplace Damper!
Often overlooked, an open fireplace damper is just a direct line for heat to enter the home, or conditioned air to escape! Many people go as far as stuffing an old pillow into the fireplace over the summer months, completely sealing the gap! Just make sure you remove it before you fire up the logs in the winter!

Install a Programmable Thermostat

Installing a programmable thermostat can be done by anyone who can turn a screwdriver, and will likely pay for itself within the first season of having it in place! After it's installed, you can set the thermostat to vary the temp in 2 degree increments, for when you are gone from home or don't need as much cooling, like when you sleep at night!

If you like the home at 72 degrees when you are there, set it to maintain 74 when you are at work, and to automatically cool the home to 72, 15 minutes before you normally get home!

US $50.00

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Honeywell touchscreen programmable thermostat RTH7600

US $50.00

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White Rodgers UP400 Touchscreen 7 Day Programmable Universal Thermostat

US $50.00

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Honeywell Aube Programmable Thermostat for Electric Floor Heating

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Honeywell Programmable Thermostat RTH7500 NEW

Never Change the Thermostat by more than 2 Degrees!
One of the most common mistakes with programmable thermostats, is setting too wide of a temperature swing! Just because you are not home in the daytime, does not mean you should let the home heat up to 80 degrees! It takes much less energy to maintain a common temp in your home, than it does to cool everything in your house back off!
Focus on 2-degree incremental changes in temperature for your home! If you set your thermostat to adjust when you arent home, set it from 72 to 74, versus 80! It only takes 10-15 minutes to cool the home 2 degrees, versus 1.5-2 hours to go from 80 to 72 on a hot afternoon!
Soak in a Nice Cool Bath for 15 Minutes!
We all get overheated every now and again. Instead of pushing the thermostat down to meet our cooling needs, jump into the bath or shower for 10-15 minutes! Once your body cools off, you will find the existing temp is very easy to live with.

Install an Attic Ventilator Fan!

We have focused on this alot lately, simply because it is one of the cheapest and easiest ways to reduce your overall cooling bill! Check the post we wrote about Attic Ventilators to understand more!

US $50.00

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