Naturally Cool

Out comes the sun and ‘on’ come the air conditioners. Hold it right there…. before you turn to your air conditioner to stay cool and drive your electricity bill up, why not explore other ways of keeping cool and saving money?

Try not to turn on your air conditioner unless you are truly uncomfortable. Usually, a room with open windows and a fan or two is more comfortable than one with central air (in which everyone is wearing a sweatshirt because of the cold…).

Also running the A/C all day in an empty house while you’re away is very wasteful. There’s a myth that leaving the A/C on all day uses less energy than cooling the house down when you get home. That myth is completely false. Your air conditioner has to work its hardest in the middle of the day when it’s hottest outside. That’s a lot of wasted energy when nobody’s home.

Here are some more tips to keep in mind:

• Use ceiling fans to supplement, or even in place of, air conditioning;
• Keep doors and windows closed when the air conditioner is on;
• Close blinds, shades and drapes during the hottest part of the day in the summer;
• To save more on central A/C costs, try cooling your home to only 24 or 25 C instead of the low 20s. Each degree you go below 26 C noticeably increases your electricity use;
• Turn off unnecessary lights in the house – they produce a lot of heat and make your air conditioner work harder.

Thinking about our environmental impact and the economical impact of a high energy bill just makes sense. Cheers to your cool summer, naturally.