Daily Home Renovation Tips

Editor’s Note: To view the 500+ different energy and water conservation tips for the home we have collected, simply access our Un-Official Guide To Home Energy & Water Conservation, 2nd Edition

Earlier this month we published  second edition of our Un-Official Guide to Home Energy and Water Conservation. We would typically start our detailed review with suggestions and ideas which can reduce a household’s consumption of all non-renewable energy and water resources. However, these suggestions are more long term in focus.

We are in start of the hot summer season here in North America. We need help right now to keep our home cool and thus reduce the use of the air conditioner as well as those ultra high electric utility bills. We need immediate and short term focus.

So, let’s start with a review of the first 12 of the 20+ no cost ideas to keeping a home cooler in the summer.

Number 161, Seasonally Open / Close Window Coverings, is like so many of the suggestions in the Un-Official Guide, is simple and easy to do: during the day keep the drapes, shades and blinds inside the house closed. This helps to keep the sun’s direct sun-light from overheating the inside of the home.

Number 162, Seasonally Adjust Light / Heavy Drapes, is similar but different. In this tip, if you have them, replace your heavy drapes or curtains used during the winter with ones that are not as thick or heavy. By doing this, you will allow more air to circulate through the open window when open yet still keep some of the sun’s direct UV rays out.

Number 163, Ensure Doors Closed When the Air Conditioner is Running, and number 164, Ensure Windows Closed When the Air Conditioner is Running, are good reminders of how not to waste energy. Why keep your front / back door open when the air conditioner is trying to reduce the temperature inside your home? Same for windows? Sure we want a door or some windows open in the evening or early morning to allow the cool outside air (if sufficiently cool, that is ) to help keep the temperature down inside.

However, it is so gosh darn easy to forget to close them all when the outside temperature sufficiently rises to cause the air conditioner to come on.

So, when the A/C starts, do a quick check around the home to ensure all doors and windows are closed to keep the air cooled by your air conditioner inside, causing the unit to work less.

If you have a window air conditioner unit meant to condition the air of just that room, then remember to keep the door to that room closed when it is on so the unit does not run forever trying to cool the entire household.

Number 165, Close Vents in Unused Rooms, will stop the cooled air from the central air conditioner from cooling a room you don’t use and push it to cool only those rooms that you are currently using. This will help cause the A/C to run less and thus save you money on reduced electrical utility bills.

Number 166, Close Doors in Unused Rooms, when combined with number 165 above, will also help to shorten the amount of time the air conditioner unit is on. Why have the A/C work to cool the temperature in a room that is not being used?

Number 167, Turn Off A/C When Away At Work, is an excellent tip that will save you lots and lots of money through reduced electrical utility bills. Why have the air conditioner work when you are not there? Especially if you are away for 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 hours or more at a time at school or at work and no one else is in your home? If you haven’t tried this, you will be surprised how quickly your home’s inside air temperature will come back down once you turn on your air conditioner.

Of course, if you have pets then you would need to reconsider this and perhaps simply raise the temperature of your thermostat so the air inside your home is not overly uncomfortable for your ‘best friend’.

Number 168, Turn Off A/C When Away On Vacation, is just like tip number 167 above, except for a much longer duration. Why keep the house cool when no one is there?  You could even consider, if you are worried about damage to the inside of your home should the temperature get above a certain level, simply set the temperature on your thermostat very high rather than off.

Number 169, Use Basement Living Area in Summer, is a wonderful idea for those who have basements. When I grew up my parent’s home did not have an air conditioner. So, I spent most of the time I was home in the basement playing games, etc. Additionally, I slept on a pull out cot at night. It is so much cooler in the basement than in the above ground areas of the home. The more time you and your family spends in the basement during the summer, the less you will need to run the air conditioner and thus save money.

Number 170, Drink Ice Water vs Using Air Conditioner, is a great idea. What does one typically do when one is feeling hot? Drink something cool or cold, right? Same principle. Rather than keeping the air conditioner running all the time, keep a pitcher of ice water in the refrigerator and take frequent drinks throughout the day. Your body benefits from constantly drinking lots of water and your wallet (as well as the environment) benefits from you not needing the air conditioner to run as often because your body will be cooled by the constant ice water.

Number 171, Use Less Lights for Less Generated Heat, is really useful for those light bulbs in your home that are not CFL or energy saving. The ‘old fashioned’ type can really generate a lot of heat. It is amazing how much heat just a few of those light bulbs can generate, sufficient to cause the air conditioner to run much longer. Sure, it would be best if you replaced them. However, not every type of light socket can use CFLs. Our own family room’s recessed ceiling lights are not CFLs because we like to use a dimmer for the ‘astestics’.

Number 172, Air Conditioner Unit Free From Grass and Weeds, is a good reminder to let the air flow freely into your air conditioner unit. The more long grass and weeds that are up against the outside of your unit the harder it has to work to pull fresh air into it, and thus the more electricity that your air conditioner unit will consume.

Tomorrow, we look at the remainder of no cost home cooling energy conservation tips in our Un-Official Guide.

To read about the other home cooling energy conservation ideas which will cost you absolutely nothing to do, simply select this link to Part 2.