Budgeted Summer: How to Save Money While The Sun Shines
Summer is a time for vacations and fun, of beaches glistening with sand and surf, or days spent basking in the sun and getting a tan. From childhood all the way to the twilight years, summer is something to be looked forward to. Summer, however, is also a time to dread if you wish to save money.
Vacations can certainly drain the wallet, but what can perhaps empty the entire bank is electricity. Refrigerators and freezers need to work overtime, since the ambient heat of the surrounding air can keep them from lowering their temperatures quickly, and can keep them from maintaining low temperatures for long periods of time. With rising heat comes rising electric bills from air conditioners running on full horsepower. Electricity costs often double or even triple during the summer months.
These headaches, however, can be solved with know-how and common sense. If you want to have a great summer ahead, then take note of the following tips that will help you summer-proof your home and improve your vacation.
Electric Bill Paring
Saving electricity during summer can be summed up in the following statement: keep your important appliances at a low temperature. If you can insulate your appliances, and even your home effectively, you can cut your electric consumption by as much as fifty percent.
Use the energy saving features of your home. If you are in the process of building a house or choosing an apartment to live in, make sure that the ceilings are high above you. Lower ceilings can trap warm air in your rooms, making them more difficult to cool. Make sure that you have many windows, with most of them facing north or south, in order to avoid the hot sunrise or sunset.
If you already have a low ceiling, however, lower your house temperature by opening windows and letting the air in. You can also try portable fans or ceiling fans instead of your air conditioner. If you want to cut down on electric bills on your office, opening windows may be out of the question. In this case, you may want to seal your windows completely to keep the hot air out of the room, and operate only one air conditioning unit at a time.
Keep hot appliances, such as television sets or lighting equipment, away from air conditioners. Anything that emits heat can keep cooling equipment running on higher power, longer. If you are shopping for appliances, moreover, make sure to look for the Energy Star label, which designates the appliance as being energy efficient. You may also want to replace your incandescent bulbs with fluorescent bulbs.
Summer is a bright time, with the sun staying for a far longer time in the sky. Use whatever ambient light is available, and switch your lights on only when they are needed. Light bulbs emit heat, and can increase room temperature, so keep all lights off during the day.
Computers and laptops are easily destroyed by heat, no matter how great your built-in CPU fan is. Avoid using these, and other electronic equipment, if it is too hot: not only will they use up more electricity, they will make your air-conditioning equipment use up electricity as well with the heat they emit.
Before summer comes along, make sure you plant shrubs, trees, and tall plants in order to shade your air conditioner. Do not let the plants block the air flow, but let them keep your air conditioning unit in the shade, since direct sunlight can also increase your electric bill. Grow shading vines or trees along windows and keep your windows in shade if you are facing the east or the west.
[Image from Flickr]
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