5 Tips on Decreasing the Cost of Cooling the House

Many cities around the country are seeing extreme changes in weather. During the winter there are all-time low temperatures and during the summer there are all-time high temperatures. When the summer comes and the rising temperatures start to get to you the electric bill can get really high from running the air conditioner all the time. There are several steps that can be taken to keep a house cool without running the air conditioner all day long.

Air Dry
At risk of being the talk of your neighborhood, one solution for keeping the house cool is not run the dryer because it emits heat. Instead hang your clothes outside. You know, like they do in those old ancient movies you've seen on TMC or AMC. Another way to air dry is to not run the washing machine but to wash them by hand and let them air dry. This is also something that you've probably only seen in reruns of Donna Reed or something, but it really works.

Ceiling Fans
Obviously ceiling fans are a good way to cool a house during the summer months. Running a ceiling fan will use some energy but it is a very small percentage compared to running the air conditioner.

Cook on the Grill
If electric bills are getting difficult to pay then you're probably not some millionaire in a mansion. The rooms in your house are probably small enough that anything emitting heat is going to make the entire room hotter. Stoves and ovens can cause great heat in the kitchen and by the time the dinner is made the family member doing the cooking will want to crank up the air. The best solution for this is don't cook inside. Cook outside on the grill instead. Not only will it keep the kitchen cool but also food cooked on the grill tastes better anyway.

Let Fresh Air In
It doesn't take a rocket science to figure out that one way of cooling the house is to crack open a window but you might not know the second half of the solution. To get some fresh air in the house crack open some windows on the first floor about one or two inches. Then in the windows upstairs place portable fans blowing air out the window. How does blowing air out the window help? Hot air rises so the air that is being blown out the windows is hot air. That air will then be replaced by the cool air coming in the windows downstairs. This will result in a nice breeze throughout the house.

Upgrade your Air Conditioner
If you're still using the air conditioner that the house originally came with then that is part of the problem. Upgrading the air conditioner will cost some money up front but the amount of energy that is saved by newer, more efficient air conditioning models will save money in the long run.