5 Ways to Lower Your Air Conditioning Bill

Air conditioning has become the standard way to cool homes during the summer months, but it's an expensive energy hog. If you would like to find ways to lower your power bill without sweating through the summer, then take a look at these five energy efficient options.

Run Fans

Before the invention of air conditioning, people cooled their homes with ceiling fans. As well as keeping the air moving throughout the house, well-placed ceiling fans — over seating areas, dining tables, and beds — provide effective cooling that will keep your family comfortable.

Plant Shade Trees

You don't need to wait for young saplings to grow into mighty oaks before you can take advantage of shade trees. You can arrange to have mid sized trees strategically planted around your house to prevent the sun from shining in through your windows and from heating up your walls. Shade trees can lower the ambient temperature by around 9°F.

Even planting shrubs and small trees around your air conditioning unit can help. According to the US Department of Energy, your air conditioner could become 10% more efficient if it's shaded.

Open Your Windows

Opening the right windows at the right time of the day allows you to benefit from natural ventilation, and you might find that you only need to use your air conditioning on the hottest days instead of using it for most of the summer.

One thing that deters many people from leaving their windows open overnight is the fact they don't have time to run around in the morning and close them all up again when they're rushing to get ready for work.

This is where home automation technology can help. Each of your windows can be fitted with a window actuator, which is a device that electronically opens and closes your windows. Used in conjunction with a control unit, you can have all of your windows closed at the touch of a button, or have them automatically close at a time of your choosing.

Spend More Time in Your Basement

In the summer, the coolest place in your house is your basement. This is because it's sunk into the earth and surrounded by thermal mass that keeps the temperature at a fairly even level all year round.

If your basement is already finished, then all you need to do is move in a couch and a TV, or set up your home office equipment, and you're good to go.

Use an Outdoor Kitchen

Cooking in your kitchen adds a lot of extra heat to your home that your air conditioner has to remove. Think about setting up a simple outdoor kitchen where you can plug in energy efficient cooking appliances.

Consider using a slow cooker to cook everything from a loaf of bread to a chicken dinner. Rice cookers produce perfect fluffy rice in less than 20 minutes, and you can even bake fresh pizza in just a few minutes with a pizza oven like this one.

By making some clever changes to your home, you can knock your power bill down to size, and you'll significantly lower your carbon footprint at the same time. What's not to love about that?