Well to make a long story short, we survived those days. Phew. Not that we're never hot and grouchy now, but we've learned some stuff since then. And our house stays cool most of the time without costing us a million bucks. Today I'm going to share some things we've learned about how to save money and stay cool.
5 Ways to Save Money on Cooling Your Home
- Use Windows to Your Advantage - This trick will only work as long as the temperature outside drops to below about 75 degrees Fahrenheit. When the temperature starts to drop, open the windows. Usually this is in the later evening and early morning. Then make sure to close them before the temperature outside starts warming up. We like to stick a inexpensive fan in the windows and blow the cool air in. That always helps to cool off the house even better.
- Plant trees around your house to shade - Obviously this isn't a short-term solution or a solution if you're renting like we were back in the day. But if you're a home owner or planning to buy in the future, it's something to consider. Shade trees planted around your home, will significantly reduce your cooling costs. Here's some information that I found helpful if you're wondering specifically the best places to plant the trees. Our current home has mature shade trees and we've noticed a huge difference between how cool our home stays and others in the area that don't have the shade trees.
- Control the A/C or Central Air - Whenever possible, use ceiling fans and other inexpensive fans instead of a/c or central air. They are a lot cheaper to run and will help you keep your cooling costs down significantly.
- Avoid Generating Internal Heat as Much as Possible - Most people probably already realize that using the oven during the heat of the day makes for a pretty miserable kitchen. But did you know that your dishwasher, washer and dryer, along with other large appliances also give off a significant amount of heat when they're in use? Avoiding those as much as possible or only using them during the cooler parts of the day can help you save money on cooling your home.
- Batch Cooking - If you're heating up the house anyway by turning on the oven, make use of that energy by cooking several different things at the same time or make extra and freeze it for later. This will save you from having to turn on your oven as much in the summer and keep your home cooler.
Now it's your turn. Do you have any ideas for how to save money on cooling your home? Please share. Happy Frugal Friday. Stay cool!
1 comment:
Hi, cool post. I am finally starting to socialize on blogger. Come check out this site for writing too. It pays and it's easy and you can write about almost anything. Click Here
Post a Comment