10 Ways to Reduce Your Summer Utility Bills

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keep shades or blinds drawn to reduce sun's hot rays entering your home.
keep only necessary lights on.
while a fan uses electricity - it channels the cool air further and in addition makes the area feel cooler - thus you can raise the temp on your thermostat by at least a degree.
close doors leading to other floors to keep cool air up and warm air from falling,

Gail Monaghan of PA 7:48PM July 07, 2010

My Godfather is the the maintenance supervisor for a local apartment complex, and he insists that you must allow your AC unit to properly breathe or vent during the hot summer months. He advised that it is ok to close doors to unused rooms but don't close thoe vents people, or it could lead to costly AC repairs down the road.

Terrance of GA 9:49AM July 07, 2010

I guess Bernie has paid off the estate on Bainbridge Island or he would have a hefty monthly mortgage. Further, he must be placing the cost of real estate taxes outside of his living budget because city and school taxes have to be somewhere around $500 a month alone. Finally, the Pacific Northwest is generally temperate and would support lower utilities for heating and cooling. Can't say the same for many other areas such as Dallas, TX where people die from lack of air conditioning during the summer and freeze during the winter.
Bernie is not the only thing that is wet in this piece!

George of TX 12:56PM June 29, 2010

I found a fairly low cost source for LED lamps https://www.supertobuy.com/ and bought a number of 3 watt 5 led lights that suficently light my shop window stairwells amd other night light uses now its just 18 watts to light up what 150 watts of floresant did. and almost no led or mercury used (regular 120 volt ac power standard bulb base as in the average lamp. my lightbill for a 3 floor building 23x100 or roughly 6900 sq ft bldg in summer w/o ac was 85 dollars Oh i do have an electric water heater (tankless or demand style) that helps along with 3 phase Star power suppily (3 hot 1 nutral) and as long as the load is balanced the power cost is low.

hhandyman of KS 4:26AM June 19, 2010

My newest TV is a less than 3 year old LCD. If I unplug it (or it otherwise loses power) I have to wait for it to do a channel scan to find all the channels when I turn it back on. This takes 5 - 6 minutes, and I only have basic cable, no premium channels. It can take up to 10 minutes on the oldest TV in the bedroom. My wife likes to have the weather channel on when she's getting dressed in the mornings so she knows how to dress for the day. Unplugging this tv would mean she's already dressed before the tv would be usable.

Martin of NC 11:41AM May 10, 2010

We installed a large roll out awning (powered with remote) to shade the east facing end of the house with two large windows. This keeps the inside rooms much cooler and reduces the air conditioner use. We also open windows each night to cross vent the house and let it cool naturally. Closing the windows and using shades during the day help us avoid using the AC until late afternoon and early evening.
Also remember that turning the thermostat up a degree or three also saves.

Gary of MT 10:50AM May 09, 2010

In your statement at the end of the second to last paragraph of "In the Living Room."
"In general, LCD televisions use less energy than plasma screens, but both use more than older sets."
I believe this should read, "but both use less energy per square inch than older sets."

dedblank of OH 9:54AM May 09, 2010

Your A/C my not be designed for this reduction in load.
Ask your A/C service person before shutting vents and doors to unused rooms. This practice can be harmful to to your compressor and the resulting over capacity can raise the humidity (caused by short cycles) in the rooms that are open.
One of the steps my service person does at each system check is to verify that all vents are open.

DonR of TX 9:18AM May 09, 2010

Build and use a Sun Oven. The article mentioned baking cookies in your car. A sun oven are much better. They can be used on any sunny day and even in the winter with temperatures up to 350F. An afternoon, duct tape, some boxes and a piece of glass are all that are need to make your own sun oven. They are also for sale. Savings will result from not using energy from the grid and not heating and consequently cooling your house.
Turn off your PC when you go to bed. That can save up to a dollar a day in electricity.
And ditto to Bob of OH. My family hangs clothes on hangers indoors even in the winter for drying. No shrinkage too.

Dennis Stork of IN 9:25AM May 08, 2010

I have you know that the amount of mercury in a CFL is the equivalent of the following -> . Yes it is the size of a period at the end of a sentence, and much less than the mercury in a hand watch that you carry in your wrist everyday... AWWW MERCURY!! RUN!

Cindy of TX 4:35PM May 07, 2010