How To Reduce Your Summer Cooling Bill

September 4, 2007 · Filed Under · 4 Comments 

Whole-House FanI know some people who seem to run their AC all day and all night and wonder why their PG&E bill is over $600 per month all summer long. Here are some tips to reduce your cooling bill:

1- If you don’t have a whole-house fan yet, install one! They are fantastic, we had one put in our house and use it every night and every morning during the summer. They are typically installed in the hallway of your home and when you turn it on, it pulls in the cool air from the outside and brings it in the house. We open up the windows and sliding doors and turn it on around 9 pm and then again at about 6:30 am in the morning and it cools off the house 5-10 degrees. If you live in an area that is very humid you may not use a whole-house fan as much as we do.

2- Use ceiling fans and run them counter-clockwise to disperse the air. You want the air to be forced down toward the floor. Stagnant air is much less comfortable than feeling a breeze across your face from a fan.

3- Use a programmable thermostat so you can set your AC to a higher temperature when you are not at home and a cooler temperature when you are at home. Don’t need to cool off your home when nobody is in it!

4- Replace your AC filters monthly during the summer. Dirty filters restrict air flow and make your entire cooling system less efficient.

5- Keep shades and drapes closed when direct sunlight is hitting the windows. I have noticed when I don’t do this, the heat radiates off the floor and walls.

6- Plant a tree. Do you have some windows that seem to get direct sunlight all afternoon? If you do, you should consider planting a tree to block some of the sunlight. We planted a few Crate & Myrtle trees in the front of our house and not only are they beautiful but they give us some great shade.

7- The hard but obvious one! Try not to set your thermostat below 78 degrees. We typically keep ours around 80 and it is fine for us, especially if we have our ceiling fans going.

By using these techniques I have been able to lower our cooling costs substantially. The weather here in northern California continues to be over 100 degrees, can’t wait for Fall and some cooler temperatures. Speaking of which, I better get all my firewood split!

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Comments

4 Responses to “How To Reduce Your Summer Cooling Bill”

  1. glblguy on September 4th, 2007 2:33 pm

    80! Gasp, I would die….anything over 74 and I’m burning up.

  2. Kyle on September 4th, 2007 2:39 pm

    Well…..I forgot to mention we don’t wear any clothes and we duct tape bags of ice to our legs!

  3. Tish on October 1st, 2007 10:43 pm

    *LOL* With all that ice you’re using, I can only imagine what your water bill must look like!

    I run my air heat/air all day and night, but I keep the thermostat set to about 72. I can’t take it when it gets higher than that. Surprisingly, my bill is only about $130-$140 per month, and that includes a private security light fee of about $7 per month.

  4. Kyle on October 2nd, 2007 7:38 am

    Wow…72 degrees and you only pay that much? That is great, my bill here is close to $300 in the summer and we keep it a lot warmer than you do. But it also gets really HOT here in Northern California. That is why I spoon a big ol’ bag of ice every night!

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