It's crazy hot here in Minnesota this week, and living in Minnesota we're not used to this kind of heat. Our homes are designed to keep heat inside in the winter leaving us with rather warm spaces in the summer when the heat hits. This week my husband and I caved and started running our air conditioner. We do it as carefully and efficiently as we can! Check out our tips after the jump.
Cool your space just enough to be tolerable. Just because you're turning the air on doesn't mean you need to get it down to 70 degrees. Be mindful of the moment at which your home becomes livable again and just turn it off that way you avoid cooling it excessively.
Clean the unit. A hose can do wonders to how well your AC runs. Pick out leaves and other gunk that has taken root inside and let it run cleanly.
Think about when you run it. So there's been a debate in my circle lately: when should you run your AC? There are two arguments: the first is to run it during the day because your furniture and other surfaces soak up heat during the day and release it at night, so it is better to keep them cool during the day to avoid heating the space later in the day. The other camp says to cool the space only when you are home and to run it at night to get a good night's rest and use it when peak energy isn't as much of an issue. Really, I think the main point here is to not run it for hours on end and target when you use the AC to be most effective in your home.
Use other ways to cool down. Go to the pool, make yourself a cold drink, turn a fan on, take a cool shower or go to the basement. The AC isn't the only way to cool yourself down. Think of creative ways to stop the sweat.
I hope everyone is able to avoid melting these next few days! Do you have any more tips?
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• Tips for Buying an Energy-Efficient Air Conditioner
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Interesting post! I agree about the "only cool your house down until it's livable" tip. However, I've heard that it's extremely INefficient to turn your ac on and off. That it takes it more energy to cool the house down from 85 to 75 than it does to simply maintain 75. Anyone else heard this? I'm not saying I'm right, but would love to get more input!
Today's just too hot. That said my airs been running since 10am. I have mine set at 68 degrees and I'm comfortable.
Other ways to keep cool beside going to a pool/beach is going to the mall. Just walk around, do some window shopping etc... It's a great inexpensive way to cool off and save energy.
Fans cool people, fans do not cool rooms, get rid of ncandescent light/heat bulbs (90% goes to heat not light), shade south and west windows, drink cool drinks.
if you only have window AC - cool the room you're in, not the whole house. it DOES save on energy costs. if you have central a/c, 'tis better to leave it on all day, but change the temps depending on whether you're home. if you're not home, turn it up to 80, and if you are drop it down 5 degrees. we keep our house at 75 in the summer and 60 in the winter.
Great post! It's so hot!!!
it's been ridiculously hot here in mississippi. for some reason in the winter my 1 bed room apt (clearly not well insulated, it's very old) cost me over $300 2 months in a row to heat! i almost had a heart attack... but now that it's over 100 degrees out i keep the air on all the time for my cat (i know, i know) and my bill has been around $100 all summer. beats me.
@downtowncook,
I've heard that, too, but I've also had several HVAC professionals tell me that it's a myth. If you factor in all the times the AC would turn on and off throughout the day, I think that makes sense -- I don't think there's any net difference.
I usually just turn my AC off while I'm gone, but I came home to find it nearly 100 degrees in there the other day, yikes!
My AC's been running here in Madison, WI, but my fourth floor apartment is still 90+ degrees!
Your first tip is on the money.
My house heats up to about 85 when I'm gone during the day. I don't turn the A/C off but I do put it around 90. I find it tolerable for the most part. At night I only turn the A/C to 80. With an overhead fan and a smaller fan blowing, I sleep comfortably.
For a 2 story house, my worst bill is about $150 in the summer (and this is Texas where we get many many 95+ degree days in a row). Blinds, solar screens, closed curtains, and plenty of insulation help keep my costs reasonable.
@akay - thanks! I've been wondering that for a while, and might just see how it affects my energy bills. Sounds rational to me!
I'm in WI. We keep our AC at 74 during this kind of spell and keep a series of fans running on the upper floor since the AC is not very efficient up there (even then, I start downstair and only end up in the bedroom as the night cools). I am very heat sensitive--above 70F, I begin to suffer; add humidity and I melt. I figure we make up for it during winter; we keep our house at 60F during the day, and we do work at home part of the time, and 55F at night (and our bedroom is upstairs where we always have an open window--I love sleeping cold).
wow no way would any of this work for where I live. It has been over one hundred degrees for a month now and if I turned off my ac for 5 minutes the house turns about 85-90 degrees. (in the amount of time to vacuum all the filters)
It's been hot since April here in Texas which is when summer typically begins.
I run my AC all day long but with the settings to be over 80 during the day yet 75 when I'm home.
I have pets so I A/C one room and they have access to that room plus the rest of the hot apartment if they want it.
But there's no way I can leave a house full of panting heatstroke cats in my wake when I leave for work!
...that said, I'll turn it off @ night if it's lower than 90 degrees and just use fans. My and my cats' threshold seems to be upper 80s is okay, and then above 92 is bad news.
Run your AC at an energy-saver setting all night and keep a high-powered fan pointed at your bed. Get up just before sunrise, turn the AC off or turn it back until the thermostat cuts it off, and then open every window in the house. Leave windows open until an hour after sunrise, then close them and close all the blinds, shades, and curtains. Then turn your AC up to its normal setting, where the thermostat will not activate the compressor until the house heats up. Depending on where you live and how many shade trees you have, that compressor might sleep until 1PM or after.
I also keep bubble wrap on any windows which do not have a view, and old-fashioned roller shades over those for insulation.
now, how to convince the pets that the room i keep air conditioned during the day for them is a good place to be. my summertime game is to keep putting the cats back into the air conditioning...