What's a cheap way to have air conditioning?

Question

Electric bill is always so high, what can I do to cut down the cost and waste?

Answer 1

1) Proper insulation of your doors and windows, so that you're only cooling your own space.

2) Use dark curtains to keep out the sun during the daylight hours.

3) Limit the area that you use the air conditioning in -- just the bedroom, or just the bedroom and living room... make it spaces with doors to close, so that the cool stays in one location.

4) Limit the amount you run it. Only while you are home, for example, or only until you go to bed.

5) Turn it down a notch. Set it for 3 degrees warmer than you think you'd like it, and just wear less clothing. Try 78 degrees, for example, instead of 75.

6) Make sure to buy an Energy Star rated appliance!

7) Keep the lights off at night as much as possible, it makes the space seem cooler.

Answer 2

Keep your thermostat at 78 with the fan switch on “auto.”

Cool your home only when you're there. When you leave for the day, move the thermostat up to 82 and turn it back down to 78 when you come back. It costs a lot less to bring the temperature down to 78 than it does to keep it at 78 all day. You can even buy an inexpensive programmable thermostat that will do this for you automatically, so your home will be nice and cool whenever you're there...and you won't be wasting money when you're not.

Remind everyone in the family how thermostats work: Your house won’t cool down faster if you set the thermostat at 70. It just wastes money. If you want the temperature at 78, set the thermostat at 78.

Ceiling fans don't actually cool a room; they just make you feel cooler. That means they don't do you any good when nobody's in the room so you can turn them off. Try setting your thermostat a few degrees higher and use your ceiling fan to keep you cool while you are in the room. A fan that runs constantly can cost up to $7 a month, depending on age and size.

Clean or change your A/C filter once a month. A clogged filter makes your A/C work harder than it has to.

Maintain proper airflow through your system. Keep the interior door and vents open to help your A/C circulate air more efficiently.

Keep sunlight out during summer months. If you have a lot of windows, you'll save on air conditioning if you keep the drapes or blinds closed when you're not home.

Check your duct system for leaks. If you have central air, check all the ducts and seals. If they leak, you're wasting money.

Consider buying a new A/C system. How old is your air conditioner? The older it is, the less efficient it is. And if it's 10 years old or more, it's probably really inefficient.

Answer 3

Well, the cheapest way is to forget about it totally and go back to using a fan, especially a ceiling fan. Fans use very little electricity.
But, as we are a society that likes it's creature comforts, and believe me, I am at the top of the list when talking about that,so It's not a put down on anyone, I personally run a a very high temperture and can't exist with just a fan living in NYC. So, how to cut the cost. First, don't have an a/c that covers the entire house, have rooms individually controlled, or at least have house/apt broken up into units where you can control each area seperately. In my country house in Mass we have zone heating/a/c, that means that part of the downstairs is one zone, our bedroom is one zone, the guestrooms are a zone. We only put on the a/c in the areas we are using, ie, at night we only use the a/c in our bedroom and let the rest of the house get warm. Also, you don't have to freeze the house. Use the
a/c along with fans. In the city, as it is very hot in my bedroom,I had a celing fan installed, so I can lower the temperature on the a/c in the room and put on the fan to cool of the room. A fan will not use as much electricity, so I'm cool,I have some a/c to get the humidity out of the room, but I'm basically using a huge fan to blow the air around. I've cut my electric bill down quite a bit this way and I'm still comfortable.

Answer 4

It really depends on the climate you live in. If you live in the south where it's very humid then a "swamp cooler" will not do you any good. However, if you live in the southwest desert area then a swap cooler is a great choice.

If you have to have AC in the area you live in then the best way to save money on your bills is to replace the old HVAC units with new high efficiency ones. Check out the SEER rating of your existing unit versus the newer ones. My guess is you now have one that is somewhere around 12. They now offer residential units up to 19. The higher the number the more efficient.

Another option would be to look into water source units. They basically use the heat or coolness of the ground to heat and cool your house. I won't bore you with details but basically your AC unit takes the heat from the house, puts it into water, and then the water is ran in a loop thru the ground and is cooled.

The biggest issue with these options is first cost. Both are going to cost you more right now but will save you money in the future. In a typical house you are probably looking at about 15-20 years, depending on energy cost, for a "pay back" time. That is when the total savings will equal the total first cost.

Answer 5

First, thoroughly insulate and caulk your entire house. Have your gas/electic company come out and do an energy audit--mine was $50 but they found many areas that we can fix to increase our savings. Also have them tune up and refill your central air if that's what you're using. The older ones use a great deal more refrigerant and that will really run up your bill! When you do run it--as long as you're not in a serious heat wave, run it at night to thoroughly cool the house. Turn the temp setting up considerably during the day, so that it runs only once or twice. Make use of ceiling fans to circulate the air.

Then close the curtains during the hottest part of the day--from 11-3pm. Consider planting trees to block warming sun during the summer months. If you can afford them, awnings for your windows will block the harsher sun rays and keep them from heating up the house. They can be taken down in the fall. We haven't done this, but the neighbor did last year. They look nice.

Answer 6

Keep your air conditioner set at 72 to 78 degrees when you are home and turn it off when you are not. I keep the drapes closed during the day. I also put window film on my windows that get the most sun to deflect the heat. At night, I open the whole house and put fans in the windows to bring in the cool air and leave them open all night. If there are windows across from each other, I put one fan facing in and one facing out. One draws in the cool air and the other pushes the hot air out. I close up the house by 7 a.m. The house usually stays cool until around 3. If I know how hot it is going to be that day, I set the air to go on before it gets hot (around 2 p.m.) in the house to keep the house at an even temperature and the ac doesn't have to work so hard to cool the house. Our electric bill stays pretty low and we stay cool even when it is a really hot day. We also try to cut back on other electric usage and do the laundry or running the dishwasher at night when the house is open.

We installed a fan and vent in the attic that goes on when it gets hot up there and it pushes the hot air out the vent and it helps the attic to stay cooler. If the attic is cooler, so will your house be. Hope these ideas help.

Answer 7

The best thing to do would be to cut down on the heat you need to get rid of. If you make some investments in doing this, your electric bills overall will go down.
Plant trees outside to shade the sunniest side of your house. Put up awnings on your windows to reduce the amount of heat entering the house. Pull the blinds on your other windows during the hottest times of the day.
Close the doors of the rooms you don't use much and don't air condition them.
Open your windows at night and when it is raining to let in the cooler air.

Answer 8

Try a whole house fan. It's great for when it's cool outside but hot inside--brings that cool air right in.

Also, try a water fan. It's a basic fan but adds water to the air. I haven't used one since I was a little girl and don't know if there would be a mold problem, but I've seen them for sale recently. I remember it made our living room quite cool.

In my experience, using the a/c doesn't cost a whole lot more than having fans everywhere, and it is a whole lot more comfortable.. Of course, we have a large family, so we used a lot of fans.

Try turning the thermostat up and supplementing the a/c with a fan. If your family is small, that would probably help.

Get a more efficient unit.

Change to geothermal (expensive, but over several years it will pay for itself).

Of course, increase your insulation and weatherstripping. Also, look into installing a radiant barrier in your attic. Don't know if that would make the house colder in the winter, though.

Some friends of mine installed a trellis and honeysuckle vine outside their hottest room. It quickly became their coolest room. It was in their fenced backyard, so the loss of security by covering a window was not an issue.

Answer 9

ice and a fan. :)

No seriously, I stuffed old t shirts directly behind the vent (just unscrewed the vent cover then put it back on) in the rooms I do not sleep, dine, and relax in. (my work and storage rooms) I keep the doors closed on them. Keep you closet doors shut too. Add insulation inside of your walls. Make sure there is no cleareance under or above your doors. You can use woodglue, a saw, sandpaper and some scrap wood and paint to add to your door to make it fill the door space. Also you can just stuff towels or linnens in the gaps if you do not have a woman around the house. The same goes for windows. Also, pay attention to the weather, and the wind, so you can turn the thing off and open your windows and or run fans when the weather is nice. Most people just leave it on thermostat all of the time.

Answer 10

Go to the hardward store and get a programmable thermostat (about $20-40). You can set it so that the A/C only goes on during the days and times that you're home (instead of all the time, or instead of you having to turn it on and off when you leave/come home).

It's pretty cheap, considering the savings, and is easy to install. Make sure your family or other housemates agree to the programmed settings, and don't go changing them randomly.

Also, install ceiling fans - they can really cool down a room without the need for expensive A/C. Keep your windows shut and blinds drawn during the day to block out the sun and heat.