It’s easy to see why so many households rely on air conditioning through the summer months. After all, few things can cool a home as quickly and effectively as AC. Unfortunately, this convenience comes at a cost, and if you run your air conditioning around the clock, you’re liable to be hit with some staggering utility bills. As such, anyone looking to save money on home cooling this summer would be wise to limit their reliance on AC and take heed of the following pointers.
Install Dependable Ceiling Fans
Limiting AC use is liable to prove extremely difficult in the absence of reliable ceiling fans. High-quality ceiling fans can work in tandem with air conditioning and function as independent cooling tools. Once their blades have been adjusted to spin counterclockwise, ceiling fans can produce cool breezes that flow directly downward. Needless to say, this can be a boon to any household looking to put the brakes on air conditioning.
Additionally, ceiling fans are available in so many styles that you should easily be able to find ones that are perfectly suited to your home. For instance, if you’re in the market for a fan that doubles as a convenient source of light, look into buying a chandelier ceiling fan.
Make the Switch to Energy-Efficient Light Bulbs
Over the last two decades, a growing number of us have come to embrace energy-efficient light bulbs. Despite having a slightly higher upfront cost than traditional incandescents, power-saving LED and CFL bulbs have much longer lifespans and consume far less energy, thus facilitating long-term savings. So, if you’ve continued to purchase incandescent bulbs in the interest of frugality, you’d do well to rethink this.
In addition to helping you save on energy costs, energy-efficient bulbs can aid in your home cooling efforts. Seeing as they give off a lot less heat than their incandescent counterparts, they can help prevent various parts of your home from becoming uncomfortably warm. As such, if any of your home’s light fixtures are currently housing incandescent bulbs, take care to swap them out for LEDs or CFLs.
Upgrade Your Windows
Your home’s windows may be actively hindering your home cooling efforts. This prospect is even likelier if you’re still using traditional single-paned windows, through which cool air can easily escape regardless of whether they’re opened or closed. Conversely, since energy-efficient windows contain multiple panes, they’re able to effectively minimize how much cool air escapes and how much warm air gains entrance.
Because they cost more than standard-grade windows, many homeowners write energy-efficient windows off as too expensive. However, while wanting to save money is understandable, upgrading your windows can result in significant long-term savings. Not only can they prove highly beneficial to your summertime cooling efforts, they can also be a boon to your wintertime heating efforts. So, if you’re interested in saving on utilities year-round, energy-efficient windows are likely to be a very wise investment.
Hang Blackout Drapes
Even if you’re not keen on the idea of getting new windows, there are still ways to limit escaped air. For example, dependable blackout drapes can minimize how much sunlight finds its way inside and how much cool air seeps out through your windows. Additionally, if super-early summertime sunrises have made it difficult for you to sleep through the wee hours of the morning, equipping your bedroom windows with blackout drapes can improve your quality of slumber.
If new drapes are out of the question, consider outfitting your windows with sun-blocking blackout screens. Although they’re generally less expensive than blackout drapes, these screens tend to wear out over time, and depending on the type of screens you select, you may wind up having to replace them at least once a year.
Making AC your primary – or only – home cooling tool is liable to seem like a good idea. If effective, efficient cooling is what you’re after, few things are likely to prove as obliging as dependable air conditioning. However, after seeing the types of utility bills that constant AC usage facilitates, you may very well change your tune. That being the case, it’s in your best interest to limit the use of air conditioning whenever possible throughout the summer months. With the help of the tips outlined above, you’re likely to find that doing so is much easier than you thought.
