Keeping cool in the Summer, Portland, isn’t always easy.Sure, it’s fun to go for a swim or scarf down an ice-cream cone, but if your home is uncomfortably hot, you’ll likely turn to blasting the Air Conditioning. While this is the best way to banish the heat, it can cause your electricity bills to soar. If you’re hoping to keep your home comfortable without draining your bank account this summer, we’ve compiled some easy ways to save on your cooling costs.
Utilizing all or even one of these simple solutions can have a major effect on your electricity bill, and hopefully this coming summer you can have more fun in the sun while your wallet stays out of the heat!
Install A Programmable Thermostat
If you’re manually turning you cooling system on and off, chances are your home is wildly fluctuating between feeling too hot or too cold. A programmable thermostat provides an easy method to keeping your home at an even temperature, and will end up saving you money in the long run because you can program it to run at optimal temperatures thought the day. Top of the line models can even learn your daily routines so thatno air conditioning will be wastedon an empty house.
Keep The Sun Out
If you’re looking to soak up the sun on a hot summer day, make sure you do it outside of your home. Uncovered windows will warm up your house by letting radiant heat in with the sunshine. Keeping the curtains or blinds closed (especially on south and west facing windows) is the easiest solution to this problem, but you can get more serious about blocking the sun with strategic landscaping choices.
Smart Use Of Ceiling Fans
Although ceiling fans don’t actually lower the temperature in your home, they circulate air which feels cool against your skin. Using ceiling fans in a particular room instead of turning on the air conditioner is an energy efficient solution, but leaving them on in an empty room is a waste of your electricity.
Stop Using Your Dryer
The case for hanging your clothes to dry in the summer is two-fold. As one of the appliances in your home that consumes the most energy, using the sun as your natural dryer will add up to surprising savings throughout the season. And all that heat produced by your dryer can make your home feel warmer in the summer, meaningmore frequent air conditioning system usage.
Skip The Pot Roast
Another surefire way to make your home uncomfortably hot is by cooking meals that have your oven on all day long. Try fixing cold meals like salads or sandwiches using cold cuts and deli meats, or make use of your barbecue or slow cooker to prepare hot meals that won’t have your house feeling like a sauna.
