Energy Saving Tips For The Summer Months

The following article is from WeatherBug.com and has some very simple steps we can all take to improve energy consumption with out spending more dollars as Summer time approaches.


By WeatherBug Meteorologists

The summer months bring baseball, lemonade, pool parties and unfortunately, high electric bills. For most of us the thought of our electric bills going through the roof this summer can have us counting our pennies.

Although our electric bills are certain to go up this summer, we can consciously do a few things to control how high it gets. Here are a few tips to help you this summer:

* The easiest step you can take is to turn your thermostat up a few degrees. Instead of keeping your thermostat at 73 degrees, turn it up to 75 degrees. You can also turn it up to 85 degrees when you go out for the day. This will help keep humidity out of your home without using unnecessary electricity.
* Keep your blinds closed when you`re out during the day. This will keep the sun from heating the inside of your house during daytime hours.
* Use your dishwasher and washing machine only when you have full loads. This will keep the number of times you will use these appliances down. It also helps to use your dryer at night when temperatures are a bit cooler; neutralizing the heat it gives off.
* A ceiling fan can help lower the temperature in a room by as much as 4 degrees. This can allow you to keep your air conditioning up a few degrees and still feel cool.
* Try to do most of your cooking with a barbeque, microwave, or on the stove stop. Ovens give off a lot of unnecessary heat while in use.
* Use compact florescent light bulbs (CFL). These light bulbs will last much longer than your average light bulb and reduce the amount of electricity needed to run your lamp. Plus, incandescent light bulbs add more heat to a room than CFLs, making the air conditioner work even harder.
* Lower your hot water heater from 140 degrees to 120 degrees. Most heaters are set at 140 degrees but over the summer months 120 degrees will be just as efficient.

Like everything else in life, comfort comes with a price. If you choose to follow these steps you can live the life of comfort, and still have enough money to enjoy your summer. So turn your thermostat up a few degrees, use your ceiling fan, and barbeque outside to help make it through the hot, sultry months ahead.

Story image provided by WeatherBug user Jason Mitchell of Huntingtown, Md.