10 Energy Efficient Ways to Beat the Heat This Summer#ProjectEnvolve

Project Envolve™ is a program sponsored by PPL Electric Utilities with the mission of helping us all save more and use less electricity.  I am a Project Envolve Ambassador and have been provided with complimentary products and/or payment in exchange for sharing these ideas and my own use of them with you.  The opinions in this post are 100% mine.  You can read my full disclosure policy here.

As a Project Envolve Ambassador I continue to learn about energy efficiency and how to save money on our utilities bills. (Check out some of my previous posts to learn more!) I love sharing these tips with you, especially during this time of year, summertime (yay!), when we’re HOT and trying to stay cool without spending a small fortune on the electric bill to air condition the house.

I’ve got 10 really simple, energy efficient ways for you to beat the heat this summer while saving money.

1. Swap It Out

LED light bulbs produce light without generating heat unlike traditional incandescent bulbs. We have a bunch of recessed lighting in our kitchen and it really can feel HOT with regular bulbs. We use the LED bulbs in pretty much every light fixture in the house (and outside).

BONUS: They use up to 90% less energy and can last for more than 20 years, saving up to $80 over the bulb’s lifetime. PPL Electric Utilities customers can learn more about LEDS and get instant discounts at participating stores.

2. Fan Girl (or Boy)

We’ve been doing this and it seriously helps. This is the trick though: Fans cool rooms, not people. So turn it off when you leave the room! I keep reminding the kids. 🙂  You can feel such a difference in the temp when you run a fan (try to blow the cooler air to your face or feet for the best cool down!). We have a ceiling fan in the living room and have been using this Honeywell Tower Fan and I LOVE it. It’s very portable to move from room to room and cools at a range of temps. Highly recommend!

3. Procrastinate Like A Boss

This one I am so good at. Household tasks that generate heat and use energy (think laundry, dishwasher, baking, cooking, etc) are best put off until cooler hours like late afternoon and evening. Don’t add more heat to your house when it’s already hot enough outside. Put it off? Done. 😉

4. Windows, Blinds, & Curtains. Oh My!

Windows can let in a lot of sunshine and a lot of heat. The entire back of our house is one window after another, which I love for light, but it does heat things up when I open it up. Keep the blinds closed during the day or try insulated or blackout curtains to block that heat. When it’s cooler in the evening, open the windows to get a breeze flowing.

5. Change It Up

Keeping your air filter clean will improve how your air conditioner functions.  You can find these at Lowe’s or Home Depot or even order online. The better it ‘breathes’, the more efficiently it works. We find that replacing them more often in the summer months helps with allergies too, which everyone in my house suffers with. Generally we change ours out every 3 months per the recommendation on the packaging, but changing out more frequently will keep your air conditioner operating even more efficiently.

TIP: Keep track of when you are due to get a new filter in there by taping a sheet of paper right to your furnace!

6. Get Down

Your home’s cool air sinks to the lowest level. For us, that’s the basement and it feels SO good down there in the hotter months. I’ll often take the kids down there and work on a little project just to get a break from the heat.

7. Set It And Forget It

Use a programmable thermostat to manage the temperature in your house and cool it when people are actually there. This is the same concept as turning off the fan when you leave the room. When no one is home, don’t use the energy (or money) to cool an empty house. If you have pets, keep them in mind of course, but you can safely program your thermostat to a higher temperature when the house is empty. According to the US Department of Energy, that can save as much as 3% per degree!

TIP: Keep heat-generating appliances like the TV or lamps away from your thermostat.

8. Where the Wind Blows

Walk around your house and check your air vents. Are they clear? Remove any furniture or toys (why are there always toys  near the vents?!) that are blocking the flow of air. In my daughter’s room, the vent is right below her window and curtain and the air flows right behind the curtain which doesn’t do much to cool her room. A simple vent deflector solved this problem and is making a huge difference in keeping her room comfortable.

9. Fire Up The Grill

This is a big one for us. We grill as much as possible in the summertime. You can find my favorite grilling recipes here! I’m not going to lie: I don’t want to wash the dishes and this solves that problem for me. We also much prefer grilled food, and, it keeps all the heat of cooking outside of the house and doesn’t use any electricity. S’mores over the fire pit also save energy. (You’re welcome for that excuse to eat more of them.)

10. Seal It Up

Just as we did in the wintertime to keep the drafts out, take a peek at your windows and doors and make sure you seal up any cracks and gaps. Keep the warm air where it belongs: outside!

Want to print out some of these ideas and put them on the fridge? Maybe your kids are like mine and need about 50 reminders to turn the fan off. 😉

What else are you doing to stay cool this summer? You can find more energy and money-saving tips on the PPL Electric Utilities Pinterest boards.

Check out the tips the other Project Envolve Ambassadors are sharing!