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Energy Saving Tips for Summer Cool off your house and your energy bills
Looking for ways to beat summer’s heat? Try these tips to stay cool without breaking your budget.
Running ceiling fans allows you to set your thermostat four degrees higher without
a noticeable difference in comfort. For every
degree above 72 degrees, you save 1 to 3
percent on your summer electric bill.
Close blinds during the day to keep out solar heat.
Be cool in the kitchen. Do your cooking with countertop appliances, in the microwave or on
the grill rather than firing up the stove or oven.
Save heat- and humidity-generating chores like laundry and running the dishwasher for nighttime.
Try “hanging out.” Instead of using your electric dryer, line-dry your clothes outside and save up to 5 percent on your bill.
Speaking of laundry, always use the cold-water setting to rinse clothes. This can cut your bill by
4 percent.
Get the dish on dishwashers. Using the air-dry
cycle will cool off your kitchen and save on energy.
Electronically yours … Laptop computers use up
to 90 percent less energy than desktop models. For more savings, be sure to switch your computer to sleep mode or turn off the monitor when it’s
not in use.
Get unplugged. Seventy-five percent of
power consumed by home electronics occurs
while products are turned off. Turn off power
strips or unplug devices to eliminate phantom power usage (and reduce the heat these
products generate).
Compact fluorescent light bulbs produce about
75 percent less heat than standard bulbs, and
they last 10 times longer and use 75 percent
less energy. Install Energy Star qualified CFLs
in your most-used fixtures for big savings.