Beat SummerTime Heat and Stay Cool With Utility Bills
I live in a hot climate, which means my winter utility bills are fairly modest. But it is only June, and my last bill has already spiked up to an uncomfortable level. I am not looking forward to my July bill at all. But I am busy researching some ways to save money on my home utilities so I can save money. I do not expect my summer electricity bills to be as low as my December bills, but I just want to keep it as low as possible.
Let The Government Help You Save Money on Electric Bills
People still overlook some really useful free government websites. Energy.gov is produced by the US Department of Energy, and it has a lot of great consumer solutions. Your tax money does pay for these tips, so you might as well benefit from it.
Simple Tips You Can Do Today To Save Electricity In The Summer
- If you can keep your thermostat set at 78 degrees or above, as much as possible, you can save a lot of money over keeping the A/C set at 72 degrees. 78 degrees should be pleassant, right? If you still feel a little warm, especially while you cooking, rediscover the power of fans! Simple fans operate on pennies worth of power compared to a home air conditioning system. They really do help cool the room, at least they make it feel cooler.
- If everybody is gone for the day, remember to turn up the thermostat to 80 degrees.If you have pets at home, you may want to evaluate that. But eighty degrees is considered a nice day when you are outside.
- Shut off unused rooms. If your kids have left for camp, even day camp, you can close the vents to their rooms and keep their doors closed. It should be simple enough to open everything back up when theyget home.
- Also make sure you keep closet doors closed. Lots of those closets are on outside walls. You can provide more insulation for rooms, and there is no need to cool off closets you might spend a couple of minutes using every day!
- Are there one or two rooms you spend most of your time in? Why not install a couple of ceiling fans in them. I promise that if you can turn your thermostat up five degrees in the whole house, and use the ceiling fans, you will come out ahead in the end. The idea behind our strategy is to conserve power while staying comfortable.
- Make sure your air conditioning filters are clean. Clean filters can reduce energy consumption by five to fifteen percent! If you were getting hit by a $200 cooling bill (modest where I live), that means you could be saving almost 100 dollars during 3 months of summer. You should also be extending the life of your expensive cooling system. Air conditioning filters do not cost that much.
- You know your automobile air conditioner sucks fuel too. Try to find some alternative to sitting in your car with the air on, especially if you are in line waiting for a pickup or drop off. You know that when you sit still, running your car, and running the air conditioning, you are not helping you MPG at all.
Do you have more tips to help cut summer electric bills? It is simple to register for free and comment on this post or our friendly money saving forums!
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