Keeping the cooling bill down | Cheapskate’s Guide to Living Green

Where Does My Money Go? Annual Energy Bill for a typical Single Family Home is approximately $1,900.Source: Residential Energy Consumption Survey, 2001. This information was reproduced from the ENERGY STAR website: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=products.pr_pie Average price of electricity is 9.5 cents per kilo-watt hour. Average price of natural gas is $12.42 per million Btu. *"Other" represents an array of household products, including stoves, ovens, microwaves, and small appliances like coffee makers and dehumidifiers.

By Liz Rogers
Ozarks Unbound

Summer has descended upon us and most of us are wilting under the heat. If you are anything like me, your first thought as you walk through the front door is to turn on the air conditioner. The last thing on my mind is how much that cool breeze is going to cost.

Unfortunately, Southwestern Electric Power Company sends me a helpful reminder every month of how much electricity it takes to run my AC. In the summer months, my electric bill doubles due to my AC usage.

However, there are ways to help both keep your electric bill down and help the environment. Most of the ways mentioned here are relatively cheap and can easily be accomplished in a weekend afternoon.

The best way to lower your electric bill is to invest in a programmable thermostat. There are a great many models that can be found at Lowe’s.

My personal favorite is the Hunter 5+2 Day Model. It’s really cheap ($29.00) and not too bad to install (especially if you can get someone else to do it for you). I have used it in a previous apartment and it paid for itself in one month. There are fancier models you can individually program each day of the week, but, frankly, if you work a full time job, you probably don’t need more than two or three schedules on your thermostat.

Another slightly larger investment to keep your cooling bill down is to get some thermal drapes for your windows. Sunlight pouring though your windows might look picturesque, but all that sunlight is heating up your home like a green house. You can get some cheap curtains at Wal-Mart for about fifteen bucks or if you are really picky, you can head over to the department store and check out the selection there.

As a cheapskate, I just make sure my blinds are down during the really hot parts of the day. When my AC was having issues earlier this summer, keeping my blinds down dropped the temperature noticeably. Thus it should have some effect on your heating bill, though probably not as much as thermal drapes.

Go to the Energy Star Web site for more information about conserving energy during summer.

Don’t forget to make sure the air filters in your AC are clean. Air filters work by filtering out air as it passes though your air conditioning system, so your system won’t get clogged with dust, pollen, pet hair, etc. The dirtier the air filter gets, the more efficiently it catches “stuff”. However, the downside to this is that your AC has to work harder to cycle air. Sort of like when you are drinking a peanut butter cup milk shake and there is a candy bit stuck in your straw. You have to work much harder to get the milk shake though the straw. Try to replace your air filter every month to give your AC a break.

SWEPCO’s Web site also has a lot of tips for saving energy. I think the best part of their site is their rebate section. If you need to buy a new AC, I suggest you look into getting a rebate back. It’s always good to get money for something you have to do anyways. Though I don’t suggest you go out and buy a new AC if your current unit is in good working order. One, it’s usually cheaper in the long run to get as much use out of your AC as you can before your replace it. Two, building a new AC unit usually has a larger impact on the environment than continuing to use your older and less efficient unit.

Finally, one way you can help keep your cooling bills down is to plant a tree. The shade that the tree provides will protect your home from the sun’s heat. Deciduous trees are your best bet for helping you keep your energy bill down. In addition to shading your home in the summer, they lose their leaves in the winter and let the sun warm your place.
As you can see, it isn’t too hard to save money on your cooling bill this summer. Most of the ideas here will pay for themselves rather quickly since there is little investment. Of course, the less energy you use the less impact you have on the environment. One day we will have completely clean energy, but for now all we can do is limit our usage and survive the heat.

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