Keep Your Kooling Kosts Down
Posted by Gail | Filed under SensibleSpending
The lazy days of summer are upon us, and it’s pretty damn hot. According to the 2007 Survey of Household Energy Use, more than 50% of us now have air conditioners in our homes. And just about now, they’re all coming on!
The highest numbers of homes being artificially cooled are in Ontario (80%) followed by Manitoba/Saskatechewan (70%) and Quebec (47%) Everyone else is at 20% or less. With higher electricity rates and time-of use billing, your hydro bill is set to go up this summer. If you like using your air conditioner to keep cool, take these steps to save:
Don’t set your air-conditioner below 25C. Each couple of degrees less will cost about 5% more in increased electricity consumption. And if it’s really hot outside, setting your air-conditioner to lower levels will force it to constantly operate as it tries to reach a lower temperature it can’t possibly hit.
Turn on your dehumidifier. Humidity makes you feel hotter. Get rid of it and you’ll be more comfortable at higher temperatures.
Shade your home. Did you know that proper shading can reduce air-conditioning costs by up to 30%? No trees? Make sure you draw your blinds against the hottest part of the day to keep your cool.
Close the basement vents. Cold air falls because it is heavier. Closing the vents in the basement forces most of the cold air higher.
Keep your filters clean. Over time dust accumulates on filters and can significantly reduce the efficiency of the air-conditioner. Check your filters once a month.
Cool only closed spaces. Contrary to what you’d think walking past all the stores that air condition with their doors wide open, there’s no point in air-conditioning a house and leaving window or doors open “to get some fresh air.”
Switch to fluorescent lights. Not only are they cheaper and more eco-friendly in the long run, but they also give off no heat, so they won’t make your air conditioner work hard.
Forgo the oven. Leave the oven off so it doesn’t work against your poor air conditioner; throw your food on the barbeque, use your microwave.
July 2, 2012 at 8:23 am
We don’t have air conditioning at all. But what we do is use our furnace fan (not on heat – just the fan) to move the air around the house. It pulls the cool basement air up and through the house, and we use our ceiling fans to help circulate it too. Works great! In the evenings, when outside temperatures drop (hopefully), we shut off the furnace fan and open the windows and let the cool air come in the house.
July 2, 2012 at 9:12 am
We BBQ as much as possible, but as much as I love it, it does get tiresome night after night. At least once a week we use our toaster oven which generates far less heat than the big one, and if it’s really hot, we can take it out on the deck and plug it in there. (This might not work so well if you have toddlers, pets or wildlife running around). When we do cook indoors we always cook extras so we don’t need to cook more pasta/rice/potatoes the next night. Extras are rewarmed in the microwave or used in salads with no heating needed at all. Even when you BBQ, do some intentional leftovers. Toss on an extra steak or chicken breast one night and have fajitas the next. I prefer steamed fresh veggies, but on really hot days we tend to microwave leftovers done intentionally the night before, or do frozen veggies in a tiny bit of water- far less heat generated. If you have a burner on the side of your BBQ you’re all set and do all your cooking outside.
July 2, 2012 at 10:03 am
Brenda – if you leave your furnace fan on in the evening it will keep the air moving and the cool outside air will circulate into your house even faster.
July 2, 2012 at 10:20 am
I’m trying to be a good girl and leave the thermostat at 25, but it’s SO FREAKING HOT here! Seriously. The house doesn’t even cool off at night. I can’t sleep properly and I wake up feeling so gross and awful. Any tips on how to make things easier to sleep?
July 2, 2012 at 10:45 am
We don’t own an air conditioner. I try to take advantage of each season has to offer. I like warm weather. Besides, I don’t know if it’s just me, but I think I might be allergic to something in it: it makes my nose runny and itchy, I always feel as if I’m about to sneeze!
I do need to manage when the temperature goes over 28. So, we close the blinds to keep the sun out on those too-hot days. We even close the windows in the morning, right after the night has cooled off the house a bit, so when we come back at the end of the afternoon, it’s a little cooler.
We’re lucky enough to have a basement, so when it gers too much, we all go camping downstairs. The kids really love it!
Annick
July 2, 2012 at 10:46 am
We wish we had some of that heat here on the Wet Coast. Lol
July 2, 2012 at 10:50 am
No AC in this home. We have a pull out couch in the basement for those nights that don’t seem to cool off. We make it into an indoor camping trip with the kids when we need to sleep down below.
July 2, 2012 at 11:10 am
We do use an air conditioner, we have a window one we use downstairs. We have trees but they are mostly on the north-east side of the house when they should be on the south side. It’s an old house so I don’t think they thought of these things as the septic system is on the south side so I can’t plant trees there. We do have awnings on our windows which do wonders to keep the house cool. I myself could probably do without an air conditioner but my husband is one of those people who really feels the heat and being a farmer he works a lot outside. Upstairs at night if it gets too hot we use a fan.
Another tip, don’t use the dryer! If you live in a place where they don’t allow clothes lines you can buy a nice sturdy wooden rack to set up in your home and it will fold down when you are not using it. Though watch out if you have cats, mine think its their own personal scratching post! I use it in the winter when I can’t use the clothes line.
July 2, 2012 at 11:10 am
@Stacy, I use a floor stand fan next to my bed. I don’t aim it so the air blows right on me; that’s too cold. I set it so that the air just skims me. That works very well.
July 2, 2012 at 12:24 pm
we live in bc and when we bought our house it came with ac connected to the forced air. we planned on not using it but it got super hot that summer so we gave in…..surprisingly, it was only $5 more a month than using a bunch of fans. On the up side…we slept well and had a refuge. Most of the time we don’t need it but it is affordable for us when you keep the house on a constant temp using a programmable thermstat. I also could never live in a super hot climate. The only time I feel claustrophobic is when I am too hot so I know I’d now find it hard to go back to fans after this house. (And no…it is not my dream house…this was one of the few perks of this place!) And yes, we keep the blinds closed and do all the things you “should/can” to keep your home cooler. We had many years of practice in a rental using those techniques….
July 2, 2012 at 12:29 pm
In the past, I travelled a lot for work. Sometimes we would end up in places that were so hot it was unbearable. If it gets to the point that you can get no relief at night, drape moist (or wet if it’s really, really hot) towels over your body and crack a window. Sounds weird, but when the temps are 40+ and you have no a/c, it really works! I learned that trick from another seasoned traveler.
July 2, 2012 at 2:57 pm
It’s been in the 90s here all week (Farenheit) and half my city (near Washington DC) has lost electricity due to a storm. It’s been three days with no power, but I have a generator that does the important stuff. Most of my neighbors don’t, and I’ve taken in my Mom until her power comes back on. All this to say living through this, it just isn’t an option not to have central air here. I think the houses here aren’t built with air flow in mind anymore. I bought the generator because it was dangerous when this happens in the winter, but now I know it’s not so good in the summer either.
July 2, 2012 at 4:24 pm
I live in the south in the ol US of A and we couldn’t survive if we didn’t have AC. My daughter lives in Alaska and my son lives in Montana and neither one of them have AC. Being from south Florida you appreciate it more when hurricane season comes and a storm will knock out power for a couple days, or even weeks. You learn all the tricks to keeping cool.
July 3, 2012 at 6:54 am
When it’s hot, instead of using the oven, I rely on my crockpot. Yes, we BBQ too, but it can get tiresome after a while…which is funny, because I’m usually the one scraping the snow and ice off the BBQ in January because I’m craving it!
We have a window a/c for the daytime, and we use ceiling fans for at night. Our best cooling of trick, that worked wonders int he MB heat wave we had last year, was to put about an inch of cold water in the tub, and every 20-30 minutes, go and step in. Cooling off our feet was just enough barely make the heat bearable. When we needed fresh(cold) water, I’d scoop out what was there, and use it to water the garden-which needed the water badly!
July 3, 2012 at 6:55 am
@Theresa, I used to put my tshirts in cold water and wear that to bed with the ceiling fan circulating the air down on me when I was younger and lived at home (with the hottest room in te house, because the AC was in my parents room, and it didn’t get circulated into my room.
In our current apartment, we ave central air, but only turn on the air in the bedroom. We live up pretty high in the building, and I’ve noticed that the apartment seems to hover around 26 celsius naturally, even on the 33+ days when the humidity is in the 40s (over 100f) and we don’t have any fans. We keep the bedroom slightly cooler for sleeping 23 to 24.
July 3, 2012 at 7:57 am
Wew put in AC about 10 years ago and I would never be without it again…best money EVER spent…we use it from May to September (not around the clock, just when needed)…we don’t have a bbq but will use our toaster oven and microwave to keep the oven off…also, the crockpot is awesome year round…air conditioning keeps your house comfortable…you can cook meals, clean house, and sleep very comfortably…you can now buy portable a/c units that you can move around the house and plug in as needed…just like a space heater…if you can’t get central air and don’t want a window unit this is a great alternative…I am going to save up and get one for the garage so my hubby will be more comfortable working in there in the summer….
July 3, 2012 at 8:50 am
I have central air, but the unit is located in the worst location. On a concrete patio against a brick wall – and facing southwest! So until we can replace and move the unit we have an awning over it to give some shade.
We only keep the vents to the second floor open, and there are shut-offs for the vents right at the furnace. I also swear by ceiling fans! Even in the winter I like to keep the one in the bedroom on low.
July 3, 2012 at 9:04 am
We don’t have an air conditioner. We have ceiling fans, the basement, and windows to open at night. When it starts to get unbearable, my husband puts a big fan in the window to circulate outside air inside. We also run the dehumidifier.
I find the warnings on the news interesting… ie: You should spend at least 2 hours a day in air conditioning when the temperatures get into the mid to high 30s… There are lots of alternatives. Our family is very healthy, and I think part of it has to do with allowing our bodies to adjust to temperatures.
July 3, 2012 at 11:18 am
Here’s a tip (I think I invented) for AC window units: Plug it into one one of those electrical outlet timers you might use to turn on and off lamps while you’re not home (the ones designed to deter burglers). You can often even buy these timers at dollar value stores.
I set mine to turn on at 3:30 PM and the apartment is nice and cool by the time I get home at 5.
July 3, 2012 at 8:49 pm
I lived in apartments without A/C for years, and it got so unbearable that I would camp out on friends’ sofas during heat waves like a nomad. Last year, I finally got a window air conditioner for my bedroom. It’s been a godsend, and it hasn’t cost all that much in energy bills because I only turn it on when I sleep and it’s an energy-efficient unit. Having a bedroom on the northeast side of the building, and keeping the shades closed during the day, all help to keep things cool. But living without A/C? No way, I’m never going back. The extra $10-$15 per month that it costs me in electricity bills is more than worth it!
July 3, 2012 at 9:25 pm
Ceiling fans are great too.
July 3, 2012 at 11:12 pm
I’m sorry, but one of the conveniences of living in Ontario when it’s plus a gazillion degrees outside is having our pool to cool down outside and our a/c running so we can all sleep comfortably at nighttime. At 40 years old, I am DONE with suffering physically when there’s no need. Maybe when I’m 80 I’ll appreciate the heat more and to cool sensation less, but for now, money be damned, if this woman doesn’t get. Decent night’s sleep, ain’t nobody gonna survive the next day!
. Sorry all, but there’s saving a buck and there’s suffering for a buck, and I’m personally good with saving a buck when I can minus any suffering! Love the heat, but love my sanity more!
July 4, 2012 at 1:05 pm
My parents don’t have air conditioning and do every single thing Gail has listed here along with ceiling fans and it is still unbearably hot to sleep indoors during the summer. We monitor the temperatures during the summer to plan our visits accordingly.
We have a window unit that we use during the evenings. We do try to refrain from using it if we are comfortable enough with fans. However, we are currently talking about getting a dog and trying to figure out how to keep an animal comfortable when we’re not home through the day. I would rather budget accordingly and keep everyone happy than struggle through sleepless days and nights.
July 4, 2012 at 4:24 pm
@Cyn and Michelle, me too. My last apartment before I lived with my husband was on the second floor of a duplex. No AC. There were at least a few nights where I packed up the cats and camped out at my mother’s house.
It’s been 10 years since I had an AC-less place to sleep, and I don’t think I’ll ever go back. This summer it has been especially useful as it has been unusually hot and dry. (Temps this whole week are expected to be 95F+, with triple digits possible in some areas.) We do try to employ some of Gail’s tips, such as turning the AC down when we’re not home and keeping the shades closed during the day, but AC is still my friend.
July 5, 2012 at 3:24 pm
hey have to agree with michelle. We live in Ontario and it has been over 35 degrees all week. YOu can’t sleep at night without A/C been there and it was awful. We moved to a new house 3 years ago 3 times the space and my hydro bill is only a bit here. I am not going to suffer all summer for a little savings.
I think there are other ways of savings without suffering. Keep cool everyone!
July 5, 2012 at 7:46 pm
I learned a trick from my elderly neighbor. He is a self confessed tightwad and would never ’splurge’ on air conditioning. He has a handful of plastic water bottles that he freezes during the day, slips each frozen bottle into a ziplock bag,and takes them to bed with him…LOL He stays cool all night :- )ED5A
July 5, 2012 at 10:46 pm
You can live without AC – we have fans at key places in the house and at night one for the bedroom – I get a spritzer bottle (what you use for spraying on plants) and spray myself and let the fan evaporate the water off – almost better than sex!
July 8, 2012 at 11:47 am
A cool shower or bath before bed is also a great way to keep cool while you sleep- it brings the body temperature down and your wet hair will keep you cool as it dries. Combine it with a fan in your bedroom and it should help make sleep manageable if you don’t have AC. I love the spritzer bottle idea too!