The first thing most people do when the weather gets nicer is to turn on the a/c. But how do you balance comfort and energy saving? Here’s a few ways to save energy and keep cool this summer.
Use fans. Energy efficient fans circulate cool air, whether it is from an air conditioner or not. Ceiling fans craw cooler air from the floor and raise it up, effectively mixing it with the warmer air that accumulates near the ceiling.
Keep the lights off. Lights, especially incandescent ones, generate a lot of heat. Keeping unneeded lights off throughout the day minimizes heat gain and lessens the possibility of heat transfer. Using CFLs in place of incandescent bulbs helps lessen the heating burden.
Avoid using computers, TVs, ovens, dishwashers, etc, during the warm parts of the day. When the weather is warm outside, using heat generating appliances indoors makes no sense. It makes sense then to not use these appliances when the weather is warmest. Here’s a computer tip, though: if you must use a computer opt for a laptop. Not only are they more energy efficient – they give off much less heat than a traditional computer tower/monitor combo.
If you have room a/c, keep the doors to the cooled rooms closed. And draw the curtains in the room. This minimizes heat loss and transfer. Heavy curtains insulated better than sheers.
If you are in a room for an extended period of time, the air conditioner will run longer. This is due to your body heat. So, if there are more than a couple of people in a room that is actively cooled, you will notice a difference in your a/c patterns and air temperature. Therefore, turn fans on proactively if you know there will be many people in the room and allow the warm air to “escape.”
Shield your a/c unit from the direct sun, if possible, but don’t block the exhaust vents or condensor/exchange coils.
Use the “fan only” setting on the air conditioner when possible. Or if your air conditioner has it, use the “Energy Saving” setting over the “cool” setting.
Some homes are lucky enough to have awnings or outer shades. Use them to shield your windows from the direct sun to avoid solar radiation.
Another option is to open the windows on the shady side of the house when the air conditioning is off. Doing this helps cooler air to circulate into your home. If possible, turn on the ceiling fan in the room that has the windows open. This will draw air from the window and circulate it.