How to Save on Cooling Costs

Here are some Consumer Reports tips via Yahoo on how to save on cooling costs this summer. Their list:

• Use fans more. Fans cost little to run, and they create a breeze that can help people feel cooler.

• Create some shade. Close the drapes and blinds, and roll out the awnings to filter the sun.

• Swap lightbulbs. Incandescent bulbs produce about 75 percent more heat than Energy Star-qualified compact fluorescent lights.

• Summerize the house. Add insulation and seal air leaks.

• Use the A/C wisely. Installing an air conditioner in a shady spot could increase its efficiency by up to 10 percent. For people who have central air conditioning, annual energy bills can be cut by about 10 percent by using a programmable thermostat.

• Maintain the A/C. Clean the air filter on window units and central A/Cs monthly or as needed.

Here's my take on each of these:

1. We use both regular and ceiling fans to cool the house up to a certain point. We also have an attic fan and often "blow out the house" at night when we go to bed since it's often in the 60's at night even if it's been much warmer during the day.

2. Still an on-going family battle for us. Which is worse -- heat or dark?

3. I never really thought about the heat associated with regular light bulbs.

4. An on-going issue for most homeowners for both winter and summer -- seal those leaks!

5. We have a programmable thermostat and use it year around.

6. I check the air filter once a month and change as needed.

Comments

[David]

If you haven't thought about the heat associated with regular light bulbs, then I assume you haven't thought about them at all. If that is the case, you are missing out on a big money saving tip. Compact fluorescent light bulbs are not only environmentally friendly, they last longer and use less electricity. If you calculate out the total cost of owning for both kinds of light bulbs, you will discover that CFL bulbs are a big money saver. You should look into it.

[FMF]

David --

Actually, I have thought about (and use) CFL bulbs. Just thought all the savings was in the power usage -- didn't consider the heat factor.

[Kimberly]

A few more thoughts: Anything that makes heat in the kitchen can counteract the A/C, too. Make salads and sandwiches and other kinds of cold meals so you don't have to heat up the stove or oven. Air dry your dishes instead of using the heated dryer on the dishwasher.

My clothes dryer is located right in the middle of our apartment and can really heat up the place. I'm thinking about buying a rack to dry clothes.

[Paul]

We just put in an attic fan and it does make a big difference. One thing to note is the amount of insulation you have in the attic. When we talked about adding the attic fan with our contractor, he encouraged us to beef up the insulation in the attic as well. The attic really heats up during the day and without adequate insulation, that heat transfers down into the living space of the house. He recommends at least 12" (15" is better) of blown insulation in the attic. We were skeptical at first (especially since it raised our remodeling cost quite a bit) but it really did make a difference. The upstairs stays much cooler during the day than it used to, even on hot days. This translates into more comfort and reduced cooling costs when we run the A/C.

And by the way, I want to add my recommendation for the attic fan. Being able to cool off the house in the evening before bed translates into a lot fewer days that we need to run the A/C.

[Foobarista]

We don't have A/C; we live in a relatively cool area and have a big tree shading our house from the morning and mid-day sun. But we do "blow out the house" on evenings after hot days; we've got it down to a science.

We have a couple large fans we put in front of open sliding glass doors and have them blow cool air into the house, and have other fans blow hot air out of the house. We can cool the house by up to 15 degrees in an hour.

[Terri W]

We've been trying to figure out whether it'd be worth buying another dehumidifier (we already have one in our basement) for our living area. Seems like most of the time when we put on the AC, it's not because we want things cooler, it's because we want things less humid. (We're in MN.) Anyone try that route?