Although it seemed to take forever to get here, the summer weather is in full force in the Southeast. If you’re like me, you want to keep your house cool, but you don’t want a huge electric bill at the end of the month. Here are 8 ways to reduce summer utility bills!
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RELATED: Winterize your home and keep your house warm
Reduce Summer Utility Bills
Cook Outside
One summer, I was cooking a big meal for my family. Because I was cooking over a hot stove, I didn’t realize how hot it got in the rest of my open-floor plan home until my brother asked about turning the thermostat down. I went and checked the temperature of the house and was shocked! Since I had started cooking, the temperature in the house had risen 10 degrees! After that, I went and bought a grill, and we cooked outside for most of the summer- hamburgers, steaks, fish, grilled veggies. Anything that would keep the heat outside! Grills can range from small table-top charcoal grills
Utilizer Smaller Appliances
If you do need to cook inside, utilize smaller appliances that will generate less heat- crock-pots or toaster ovens for example.
Line Dry
Anytime you use and major appliances, they are releasing heat into your house, especially your dryer. Hang your clothes up! I bought an inexpensive clothes rack
Skip the dry cycle with the dishes
If you’ve read my post on winterizing your home, you know that I recommend running the dry cycle on your dishwasher because it will work like a humidifier and put moisture into the air. However, in the summer, you probably don’t need any extra humidity! Once your dishwasher hits the dry cycle, turn it off, open the door, and let them air dry.
Utilize fans
Now, fans
Add a fan to your attic
In addition to using fans around the house, make sure to put one in the attic. We all know that hot air rises. If you ever go up into your attic in the summer, you’ll feel all that heat trapped. Attic temperatures can reach up to 140 degrees! To help push that air out through your attic vents (and out of your house) put an inexpensive box fan
Use Appliances at Night
If you’re going to use your dryer or any other major appliance, run them at night. Temperatures are cooler, and will have less of an impact on your electric bill.
Set the Thermostat
Many of us have programmable thermostats, but we tend not to utilize the feature. If you’re going to be out of the house for a significant period of time, turn the thermostat up 5 degrees or off completely. Some people turn their thermostats up at night when it’s cooler, and everyone is asleep. For me, I can’t sleep if I’m hot, so I tend to keep my house cooler at night (73 degrees) and hotter during the day (80 degrees). Instead of messing with my thermostat twice a day, I set it once, and it switches the temperatures automatically. I’ll admit that installing thermostats are a pain in the rear end, but if you’re up for the challenge, here is one on Amazon!
Get out of the house!
When I was kid, I remember spending most summers at the city park, the library, or the local water park. As an adult, my mom told me that she was always taking us out of the house to not only keep us busy but also keep the utility bills down in the summer months. When we were out of the house, we were using the county’s electricity for A/C and lights. My mom also noticed a reduction in the water bill because we were using public restrooms all day instead of the one at home. If you eat fast food while out of the house, this may reduce what you save on your utility bills. My mom packed lunches every day and put them in a cooler in the car.
Do you have any tips to reduce summer utility bills and keep your house cooler in the summer? Let me know in the comments!
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