Summer Energy Tips

Summer cooling tips

• Turn off unnecessary lights. Much of the energy from a light bulb is heat.
• Replace incandescent bulbs with energy-efficient light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs.
• Make sure furniture or drapes do not block your registers for supply and return air.
• Wear thin, loosely fitting clothes and you may not have to keep room temperatures as cool.
• Keep the sun out of your house. Close blinds, shades or curtains during the hottest part of the day.
• On mild days, open windows for natural ventilation and turn the air conditioning off.
• Use portable or ceiling fans. Run ceiling fans counterclockwise. Even mild air movement of 1 MPH can make you feel 3 to 4 degrees cooler.
• Apply sun-control or other reflective films on south-facing windows.

Cooking

• Cook on your outdoor grill. A stove or oven can raise your kitchen's temperature as much as 5 to 10 degrees.
• Use a microwave oven instead of a conventional oven to save money and keep your kitchen cooler.
• Move a spare refrigerator out of the garage to an insulated basement or spare room. You’ll save money because the unit won’t have to work as hard to keep food cold.

Household chores

• Do chores such as cooking, cleaning, ironing and laundry during the cooler early morning and evening hours to avoid home heat buildup.
• Air-dry dishes instead of using your dishwasher’s heat drying cycle.
• Avoid unnecessary trips in and out of the house, especially on very hot days. Heat and humidity come in each time you open the door.

Find more ways to make your home energy-efficient from the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy & Energy Efficency.

Learn more about how to get the most out of your air conditioner and how attic fans can help cool your home.