Our Energy Expert shares simple ways to keep your apartment or single-family home comfortable and energy efficient.
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How To Stay Cool in SummerAnd save energy too!
Yup…been doing all of these for years, and they really do help. Paying attention to where the sun is coming in through windows and how your blinds are set is huge! I adjust my Venetian Blinds several times a day to let light in but not the sun…reverse the process in the winter when you want the passive solar heat!
Would be nice to find a reliable dehumidifier. Any recommendations? Always replace after 1 or 2 years.
my ideal home would be a solar powered walk in freezer… but hey… i try these ideas and see if they help.
Great advice! Thanks for sharing!
The information about how to set the thermostat was particularly useful. Thank you!
I thought I was doing well, but you always have more information to help keep us cool this summer. Thanks
Good advice! Remember fans cool people not rooms.
We also use window fans at night to pull in cool air, then close windows and blinds in the morning. Our house stays quite comfortable most of the day!
Interesting video. Good ideas to keep in mind.
What works for our apartment, is to open the windows just before going to bed. The night air is both cooler, and more fresh than inside. Of course, close the windows at morning.
Thanks for the great tips to save energy this summer!
Good tips. 85 seems really high to leave the temp at when you leave the house but I’ll try it.
I love the ideas offered around exhaust fans, both for kitchen and bathroom, so thanks for that. Two things that aren’t mentioned:
1. Use water to cool your body down, like wiping a damp washcloth over your arms as a quick and easy way to cool off.
2. Go outside. If you have shady areas and there is a breeze, I find that the outside can be cooler than the inside of my house when the air conditioning isn’t running.
As an aside, I do think air circulation using the system fan can be useful for short stints. If you have a thermostat that offers the ability to turn it on for a short period of time, you can use it to continue to circulate cool air that is already in the vents after the conditioner has turned off. Thanks for the information.
I use 2 air purifiers and and a fan that sits on my window. I have a tower fan in my bedroom. I only fun the fan on my air conditioner when i need too and use energy saver mode.
Great suggestions! I grew up in California where we’ve been doing these things for decades and they really work!
Great, practical information. Fans are great for cooling off.
Great Tips 🙂
Love this solid and easy to follow advice. Please encourage businesses and restaurants to do the same. My work is freezing due to the AC in summer and it’s unpleasant eating in frigid restaurants.
I appreciate all the reminders…including that fans are more energy efficient than air conditioning.
Thanks for sharing this!
Lots of very good, mostly common sense tips for greater comfort and lower energy use (and cost) to try during the warm summer months. Another option for homeowners, though admittedly not apartment dwellers, is the installation of a whole house fan. For a relatively small upfront investment of a few hundred dollars, it could pay for itself in the first year, and continue saving money for years to come while greatly reducing energy usage compared to air conditioning, and substantially improving comfort.
We run our whole house fan after the sun has gone down. It pulls in cooler night air and prevents us from having to use air conditioning, but only when the dewpoints are lower. If it’s too humid, it doesn’t help.