Frugal Living: Saving Money on Your Summer Power Bill + Reader Tips

fan.jpg

Did your parents ever say to you "Stop standing there with the refrigerator door open, I can't afford to refrigerate the whole house!"

My reply -- "Well turn the AC down so it won't be so freaking hot in here!"

Ha Haa I'm kidding.  I didn't say 'freaking' to Mom and Dad.

In an effort to be frugal they wouldn't let the thermostat go below 72 degrees.

While monitoring your thermostat is an effective way to save money, there are some other tips to make sure you keep the heat out and the cold air circulating through your home.

HERE ARE SOME TIPS TO SAVING MONEY ON YOUR POWER BILL THIS SUMMER:

1. Check all your windows and doors for major air leaks. That's a huge drain on your wallet. Seal the with weatherstripping products etc. (Also the door blockers people use to prevent winter air from coming in, can also work the opposite way, keeps the AC from going out) Frugal solution, roll up a bath towel and place in front of the door.

(If you see light coming in through doors -- that means air is going out.)

2. Air Conditioner -- Clean filters and turn it off when you're going to be away from the home for a long period of time. Frugal folks never go below 78 degrees.

Here's a formula to consider - Every degree of temperature decrease results in a 4% increase in your utility bill - via WeatherizationSource.com

3. Invest in floor fans for sleeping -- You can turn the AC up to 85 or so and use a fan in the bedroom overnight.

4. Use Black Out Curtains or blinds and keep them closed during the day to prevent from heating.

HERE ARE SOME READER SUBMITTED TIPS - their opinions and views-

:

Melissa McNeal Mohr ---

O I have been workin on this for years! First run all the ceiling fans, preferably on high. I have black out curtains in just about every room in our house and heat reflecting film on all the windows. You can buy that film at Lowes. For my boys room I put up some black poster board on the windows which has really helped a lot in their room. With two little bodies in there it gets hot quick. Keep all the doors open so air can flow freely. If you don't mind your house being darker than normal than all these tips will keep it comfy. I have been setting our Ac on 76/77 during the day. I'm fine as long as I'm sitting but when I get to cleaning or moving around a lot I get hot. But trying to block out as much light as possible helps.

Kidz Klozet I have a desk fan because my office is always hot to keep from turning the air down during the day.

Donna Wade --- We go naked! :) ok, maybe only the 3 yr old! ceiling fans, black-out drapes, cold watermelon, fruit slushy drinks.

Amanda Grissom Williams --- Ha! Move up north! No way the thermostat goes above 70 in our house from may to September! Thank God for the help of ceiling fans and AL Powers budget pay plan!

Savvy Savers -- Sometimes I cannot sleep because it gets so warm, I go get an ice pack and place it on my neck or my back to attempt to keep me cooler... We got a great ice pack from when he had surgery a few months ago. I just keep reusing it over and over again! Works great for migraines.

Trina Barrett -- Run the dang AC... its Gods gift to the south!

Rebecca Roy -- When we lived in Germany people would put foil on the windows. There weren't any AC's in the housing...tacky but it worked. We also misted the sheets with cold water.

Libby Lyles Farrington -- I'm going to try to focus on lowering my power bill by letting my water bill go up!! I have a toddler son and a ten year old nephew that stays with me, they stay out all day!! It's so hot, I even allow them to dump water on me! lol!

Savvy Savers - Smart Money about lowering your electric bill http://www.smartmoney.com/spend/family-money/13-simple-ways-to-lower-your-electric-bill-22933/

Matt G. Morris Sr. -- My digital thermostat is wrong even after changing batteries......I checked it against two digital IR laser thermometers. Remember those misters at the zoo? I am about to place two in a tree near the house and see if it helps cool the top of the MH.....Lets hope

Charlotte Locke --- Don't run any thing else but A/c & the refrigerator!

Sharon Fuller -- We keep all the lights off and the blinds closed and try not to use the stove at all.


Judy Eley Looney  -- I saw a tip in the paper...in summer run ceiling fans counter-clockwise & in winter run them clockwise. And I don't forget my dog, I put ice in his water bowl 2-3 times a day.


Beth Branch Thompson I can't manage without the AC. It's just a fact of life in the summer.


Diane Fenn Johnstone
I would have the caulk around the windows checked and possibly redone we did this in our old house and it made a huge difference!! And our house wasn't even 10 years old the builders just didn't use enough. Also check the insulation in the attic.

Becky Dungan -- I try not to use my oven. I can't keep the blinds closed though. When I open them to let the sunshine in, I'm instantly in a good mood :)


Hillary Pack Golson --
Dry my clothes outside on the clothesline! not sure how much it saves but it has gotta help!

Evan Tinney

-- I was told that running the ceiling fan on high is not as good as running it at medium speed. When it is running on high the air that gets circulated will be warmer because the fan itself is working hard. Also my husband suggested to me las

t night when I told him it was hot in here with the A/C running to close the doors off to the rooms that would draw the air from the center of the house. It worked I closed all doors except for one of the bathrooms and immediately it cooled off.

Stacie Medeiros Brown

-- We have all the lights turned off until it gets dark, I no longer run the dryer I hand my clothes on a makeshift clothes line on my back porch, we only turn our computer on in the mornings and then around 8p.m. when the sun goes down. when the sun goes down. I als

o have the air set on 74 and e have ceiling fans in every room. We also try to minimize our use of the oven, so we grill out and have salads and sandwiches alot. So far it has helped us save a lot of money on our power bill. Last year our bill for May was $400, this year it was $140.

Trudy Phillips  -- I have ceiling fans in each room that run on slow and circulate the air guite well throughout the house.

April Michelle Joyce -- Note to self..while a retro house looks cool with its arty windows and cabin ceilings- Its heckl to keep cool and hot.

Traci L Smith --

To save on our power bill I usualy try and unplug things that we rnt using switched all of our light blubs to the energy saving blubs keep all lights off during the day and use only some of the ceiling fans on low or med and shut the bedroo

m doors during the day! To save on running our one ac unit i keep it up on 74ish when we rnt doing nething and turn it down to 72ish when im cleaning but it always stays on energy saver so itll turn itself on/off throughout the day! Since I switch blubs and made sure lights were stayin off when not needed our power bill went down from $200/mth to $120 (last mths)!! Gonna try and hv it down to $100 by July! (BTW Im a stay at home mom w 2 boys 7&8 so this isnt easy to do haha)

Melissa Surles -- Our laundry room doorway is just a finished opening with no place for a door so I put a curtain rod over the top and we have a flannel sheet hanging there to keep the heat in. The hot water tank is in there, too and it makes a huge difference in that part of the house.

Karen Parton -- Fans fans fans

Melissa McNeal Mohr --  Also, we have a window unit in our bedroom, it had direct sunlight all day and gets the hottest. We keep the thermostat turned down to about 73. Normally we turn it down lower to like 68 cause I cannot stand to be hot! When I'm outside with the kids in the pool I will take a tshirt and wet it, ring it out and wear it to keep cool if I'm not getting in. That is we turn the thermostat down at night!

Eve Bailey  -- My fiance works in HVAC and we live in a house with lots of trees. Every time I see someone having a healthy tree cut down that shades their house, I cringe. Another tip is to make sure your AC has the right levels of freon and no leaks in your lines. It's generally cheaper to fix these problems rather than pay the higher bills each month!

Cynthia Jones McCay  -- I am getting ceiling fans installed, yay me!

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.