Money Monday: 10 Tips on keeping your Casa Cool on less Cash this Summer

From cookouts to lazy days on the beach summertime is greeted by all with a smile and sunblock. But it can cause havoc on our electric bill.  Don’t let the heat of the summer take away your seasonal bliss. 

These tips from MSN will have your home cooler this summer with more cash in your hand for a mani  & pedi. Or we can be good girls and bank it for a Sunny Day.

1. Open windows and use portable or ceiling fans instead of operating your air conditioner. Even mild air movement of 1 mph can make you feel three or four degrees cooler. Make sure your ceiling fan is turned for summer — you should feel the air blown downward. If you live in a relatively dry climate, a bowl or tray of ice in front of a box fan can cool you as it evaporates.
2. Without blocking air flow, shade your outside compressor. Change air filters monthly during the summer.
3. Use a programmable thermostat with your air conditioner to adjust the setting at night or when no one is home.
4. My Mom finally used this tip and will save alot this summer. Upgraded insulation in the attic and double-paned windows all around, complete with tinting to reflect sunlight, are good ideas, too.
5. Don’t place lamps or TVs near your air conditioning thermostat. The heat from these appliances will cause the air conditioner to run longer.
6. Install white window shades, drapes, or blinds to reflect heat away from the house. Close curtains on south- and west-facing windows during the day.
7. Plant trees or shrubs to shade air conditioning units, but not block the airflow. A unit operating in the shade uses less electricity.
8. Plant trees or shrubs to shade air conditioning units, but not block the airflow. A unit operating in the shade uses less electricity.
9. Deciduous trees planted on the south and west sides will keep your house cool in the summer. Just three trees, properly placed around a house, can save a few hundred dollars in annual cooling and heating costs. In summer, daytime air temperatures can be 3 degrees to 6 degrees cooler in tree-shaded neighborhoods.
10. Consider installing a whole house fan or evaporative cooler (a “swamp cooler”) if appropriate for your climate. Attics trap fierce amounts of heat; a well-placed and -sized whole-house fan pulls air through open windows on the bottom floors and exhausts it through the roof, lowering the inside temperature and reducing energy use by as much as third compared with an air conditioner. Cost is between $200 and $400 if you install it yourself. An evaporative cooler pulls air over pads soaked in cold water and uses a quarter the energy of refrigerated air, but they’re useful only in low-humidity areas. Cost is $200 to $600. (See “Keep cool without pricey AC.”)

Tags: cool home more cash, money monday, msn money tips, save on cooling home, working divas save money

Category: Savvy Savers