As we all face job losses, higher taxes and rising fuel costs for vehicle and home, most of us are looking for ways to cut expenses. We all have to pay for power and light usage, however there are ways to save in this area of our budget.
Warm weather is here! Before you turn on your a/c try these tips. Maybe you will have more days a/c free, which will not only lower your energy bill, but reduce your carbon footpring, i.e. the impact you personally have on our fragile and failing environment
Some money saving ideas:
- During the summer keep your shades/blinds at least halfway closed during the hottest part of the day, usually between 10 am and 7 pm in most areas of the country. I like to keep mine about 3/4ths closed with the windows open to allow the breeze to come into the house. At night keep as many windows open as possible to allow the cool night air inside. If you have ground floor windows that have easy access for break-ins take that into consideration, of course. I would not want anyone to be unsafe. If you have 2 floors to your home, you could close the downstairs windows and leave the upstairs windows open, for example.
- Use fans in your home instead of the air conditioner or central air. This will not only cool your home but also uses much less electricity (saving money on your bill) and does not emit any gasses or use chemicals that damage our ozone layer.
- I discovered this trick last summer and was surprised to find it actually worked in my apartment. Fill a medium sized container, say a reused coffee can ( plastic or metal will work) and put in the freezer. When frozen set it in front of your fan. If you can find a way to elevate the frozen container to about the middle of the fan it will work best. If you are worried about the condensation on the outside of the container set on a plate or a towel. The air passes around the frozen container, reducing the air temperature and cooling that room more. It worked in my upstairs apartment. The rooms I used this idea in felt 5 degrees cooler.
- Keep lights off and as many appliances as possible OFF during the day. Lights and anything turned on, i.e. computers, coffee pots, televisions, etc, create heat. This heat is dispursed into your home which raises temperatures and makes you more uncomfortable.
- Don’t run your oven during the day in warm weather if you don’t have to. My crock pot is my best kitchen friend in warm weather. A practice that has been followed by all members of my family since my great-grandmother is to do any necessary baking either in the early morning or at night after the sun goes down. I usually do mine first thing in the morning ( before 7 am central time) or at night ( after 8 pm). This also goes for the stove top. Between my crock pot, microwave and bread machine (the microwave was given to me and the bread machine was a gift), I rarely use my stove at all in the summer. Using a grill is also an option for your main meals. I am also exploring the concept of a solar oven. I will do a piece on that sometime in the future.
- Go outside and sit in the shade. Bring a book, toys for the kids, plenty of fluids and enjoy the outdoors! In my state of Wisconsin in the summertime, inside is much hotter than outside.
- Take a cool shower before bed. This will lower your body temperature. The cool shower and a fan blowing around your bedroom ( with the window open if possible) is usually condusive to a good night’s sleep.
I encourage anyone to email me a tip or idea on saving money on energy costs. I welcome the knowledge! I will post your idea here along with your name. If you prefer to remain anonymous, just put anonymous at the end of your tip or idea.
