6 Ways to Save Money on Cooling Bills
May 21, 2009 by Jennifer Chait
Filed under Seasonal Savings
With summer coming I bet plenty of you are considering your options for staying cool without racking up HUGE electricity bills. Following are some tips…
1. See if you qualify for a weatherization program in your area. Most folks think these are only helpful in winter, but that’s not true. Many weatherization programs will wrap your water heater, hand over a microwave, and look for areas where you can make money saving changes.
2. See if you can get a low-cost or free energy audit from your local electric or gas company. Energy audits can reveal surprising ways that you can reduce your cooling (and heating) costs year-round. If you can’t get an inexpensive audit you can try to complete a DIY energy audit.
3. Weatherproof your home. Again, this is something that some people consider good for winter weather, but it’s also useful in warmer times – why let cool air escape?
4. Consider a Solar-Powered Attic Fan: A solar attic fan saves some strain on your normal cooling system and saves you energy and money. There’s no hard wiring required to install one of these fans either, which means you can even install a solar fan yourself. See an install.
Solar-powered attic fan options…
5. Try roof whitening – this is a more expensive option at the get go, but will save you money on your summer cooling costs over time.
We have a deck, but not a roof over it. During the heat of the day, my husband positions the umbrellas in front of the windows, to shade it from the sun and help keep it cooler. It works for us, if we are eating outside on the deck, we move the umbrellas to shade us instead.