4 Ways to Save Money on Utilities During the Summer

1. Replace air filters regularly.
If you have a forced air system in your home, you need to keep up with changing filters. Most filters say they last for three months. I find that if you can hear a whistle coming from the filter before the three-month mark, it’s time to change it. Why? Because a dirty air filter can decrease the efficiency of your cooling system by two percent—meaning you’ll be using energy and not really achieving a cooler home.

2. Adjust the thermostat when you’re not around.
If no one is home during the day, there’s no reason to keep your home cooled to 72 degrees. Research shows that if you raise the thermostat by seven to 10 degrees when you’re away from home—or lower it by that margin during the heating season—you’ll save 10 percent each year on heating and cooling costs. Using a programmable thermostat to ensure this temperature change occurs regularly could be a smart investment.

3. Close shades during the day.
While you may be tempted to throw open your blinds on a sunny day and let the bright light in, you could be inadvertently heating your home in the process. When sun filters in through the windows, you get something called heat gain—the space gains heat from the sun. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, drawing the blinds or closing the shades can reduce heat gain in summer by up to 45 percent.

4. Use fans to cool a room.
Air conditioning systems can use as much as 50 times more energy than ceiling fans do, which is why people advise those looking to cool a room and save money to choose a fan over the a/c. However, I’d always heard that the way a fan cools you down is the breeze across your skin makes you feel cooler, without actually affecting the temperature in the room. That means that if you leave a ceiling fan running after you’ve left the room, you’re not achieving any benefit. A little experiment I tried in my home proved that to be true but with a twist. Using a portable thermostat, I turned on a ceiling fan in our family room and stayed there for 10 minutes.

The thermostat never changed from 74 degrees, but the breeze did make it feel cooler. Then I plugged in a Dyson Hot + Cool standing fan, which the company had sent me to try out. It is one of those blade-less fans from Dyson. This unit has a thermostat on it, so I put it on the coldest setting when I turned it on. Not only did the fan make me feel cooler, but my portable thermostat showed that in a 10-minute span, it lowered the room temperature around me from 74 degrees to 72 degrees. That was pretty impressive and a great option if you don’t already have a ceiling fan installed and you want a way to temporarily cool down a room without turning on the a/c. According to the fan’s literature, it uses just 1 watt of power. Ceiling fans use anywhere from 10 watts to 100 watts. Air conditioners, though, use 2,000 to 5,000 watts. So any fan you choose would be an energy-saver, too.

With these tips in mind, you can keep your cool about your electricity bills and stay comfortable throughout the scorching summer.