The warmer your home is, the harder your central air conditioner has to work to cool it. It’s called internal heat gain. All the things in your home that make and hold heat can affect the internal heat gain.
But there are things you can do to keep your house cool in summer. Here are a few tips:
- Eat cold meals to cut down on using your stove and oven,or cook outdoors
- Use your dishwasher, washer and dryer at night
- Replace incandescent light bulbs with CFLs
- Turn your water heater’s temperature down to 120 degrees
- Close drapes on east facing windows in the morning, west facing drapes in the evening.
- For long term relief, plant trees to help shade your home
- When replacing big ticket items like computers, televisions or appliances, get the most energy efficient models you can afford
