Little things
mean a lot
* Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescents.
* Air-dry dishes instead of using your dishwasher's drying
cycle.
* Use a microwave oven instead of a conventional electric range
or oven.
* Turn off your computer and monitor when not in use.
* Plug home electronics, such as TVs, VCRs, computers, printers,
cell phone chargers, etc. into power strips and ALWAYS turn
power strips OFF when equipment is not in use.
* Lower the thermostat on your hot water heater; 115° is
comfortable for most uses.
* Take showers instead of baths to reduce hot water use.
* Wash only full loads of dishes and clothes.
Don't air-condition the whole neighborhood
* Caulking and weather stripping will keep cool air in during
the summer.
* If you see holes or separated joints in your ducts, hire a
professional to repair them.
* Add insulation around air conditioning ducts when they are
located in unconditioned spaces such as attics, crawl spaces,
and garages; do the same for whole-house fans where they open to
the exterior or to the attic.
* Check to see that your fireplace damper is tightly closed (if
there is any air flow, put an air block in whenever it is not in
use, or install tight glass doors across the entire front).
Cheap Ways to Keep
Your House Cooler
Our biggest home energy consumption in Southern California is
cooling --unless you take steps to reduce use of your air
conditioner. Most of these ideas cost little or nothing.
Efficient Cooling System
* Use portable or ceiling fans and open windows whenever you can
instead of operating your air conditioner. Even mild air
movement of 1 mph can make you feel three or four degrees
cooler.
* Use a fan with your window air conditioner to spread the cool
air through your home.
* Use a programmable thermostat with your air conditioner to
automatically increase the setting at night or when no one is
home.
* Don't place lamps or TVs near your air conditioning
thermostat. The heat from these appliances will cause the air
conditioner to run longer.
* Consider installing a whole house fan or evaporative cooler
(a"swamp cooler").
* Add insulation in the floor of your attic, and walls if
possible, the thicker the better to keep your house comfortable.
* Install white window shades, drapes, or blinds to reflect heat
away from the house.
* Close curtains on south- and west-facing windows during the
day.
* Install awnings on south-facing windows. Because of the angle
of the sun, some trees, a trellis, or a fence will best shade
west-facing windows.
* Apply sun-control or other reflective films on south-facing
windows. A quick check of your air conditioner's efficiency can
help you decide whether to call in a service professional. Use a
household thermometer to measure the temperature of the
discharge air from the register and the temperature of the
return air at the return-air grill. (Keep the thermometer in
place for five minutes to get a steady temperature.) The
difference should be from 14 to 20 degrees, experts say. An air
conditioner that's not cooling to those levels could be low on
refrigerant or have leaks. A unit cooling more than 20 degrees
could have a severe blockage. Consider the purchase of a
whole-house or attic fan, especially if you live in a
multi-story home where the upper floor stays uncomfortably warm.
Attics trap fierce amounts of heat; a well-placed and -sized
whole-house fan pulls air through open windows on the bottom
floors and exhausts it through the roof, lowering the inside
temperature and reducing energy use by as much as
third compared with an air conditioner. Cost is between $150 and
$400. (Or you can just put a small, cheap fan in one end of the
attic to pull air in the other end during the heat of the day.)
Landscaping for a cooler house.
* Plant trees or shrubs to shade air
conditioning units, but not block the airflow. An AC unit
operating in the shade uses less electricity.
* Grown on trellises, vines such as ivy or grapevines can shade
windows or the whole side of a house.
* Avoid landscaping with lots of unshaded rock, cement, or
asphalt on the south or west sides because it increases the
temperature around the house and radiates heat to the house
after the sun has set.
* Deciduous trees planted on the south and west sides will keep
your house cool in the summer. Just three trees, properly placed
around a house, can save between $100 and $250 annually in
cooling and heating costs. Daytime air temperatures can be 3
degrees to 6 degrees cooler in tree-shaded
neighborhoods.
Thanks to the Department of Energy's Energy Star
program, which provides most of these tips (and more) at
http://www.energystar.gov/
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