What's a cheap way to have air conditioning?
Answer:
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.
If you can afford to, I would consider installing a vent fan in your attic or ceiling crawlspace. Most of the heat in your house comes from poor insulation in this area. I cut a hundred dollars off of my bill by getting a vent fan.
A whole house fan. Whole house fans remove heated air from the house and dump it outside. Turning them on in the late afternoon for a few hours does a remarkable job of cooling a place down and a lot more cheaply than central air.
Excellent question!!
Instead of cooling the entire house, I recently put a small window unit into my bedroom. I can cope with the heat most of the time, except when I'm trying to sleep. I live in a desert like climate, and this has really helped me.
Good luck!! Keep Cool!!
hang a fan above you and propell it yourself with a pully system and a piece of rope. uses no electricity ... tie the rope to your foot so you can keep typing those questions. :)
Hire someone to wave palm fronds.
seal doors/windows, light color paint, green roof, attic exhaust, i'm sure theres more
If you can, buy two ceiling fans for seperate locations in your home. This way there will be cool air rotating around different areas of your house. Hot air rises, so the fans will transform the hot air, into much cooler air. The fans then push down the cooler air, and your house is cooler.
keep it at 85 when u r not home and try not to put it lower than 75 when u r.. make sure ur windows r tightly shut and that ur doors r closed . turn off all ur lights when not in use and ceiling fans too. did u know a ceiling fan that is shut off when not in use can save u $7 a month. Doesn't sound like much but it all adds up. If u r not using it, unplugged it or turn it off. oh one othe thing make sure ur ac filter is cleaned at least once a month
if heat is coming in through the windows you can put plastic on them.they sell window plastic at walmart.i do mine in the winter..keep the front door closed ..even if u have a screen door,the heat still comes in! run ur ceiling fans!
If you have central a/c, change to a digital thermostat so you can get it on a timer. This will allow you to decide what temp your home is at during several times during the day -- i.e., 77 degrees at 8 a.m., 79 at noon, 80 at 3:00, 77 at 6 p.m.; this is especially helpful if no one is at home during the day since you will be able to keep your home warmer while you're not there and give it time to cool at little when you're on the way home. Also, add screens to you home that filter the light. These have helped quite a bit on the sunnier sides of our home.
Finally, if there aren't any rules where you live against it, you could add a window unit to whatever room is used the most while you are at home and turn off your central unit.
Why not not have air conditioning?
use simple things to keep your house cooler
for example, but shades on the outside of your house, to keep the least amount of sunlight in as possible...
i would keep it at 83-85...
try to keep other electronic appliances on for the least amount of time...
like if you leave your tv on for no reason, turn it off...listen to an ipod or somethin..
any simple steps and you will see results on your bill..
=)
good luck
On nice days (mid 70s), leave doors and windows cracked open just a little bit.
On hot days, make sure you close all doors and windows completely.
On cold days, problem solve, just shut the A/C down.
Also, vinyl siding helps, but that isn't an immediate cost effective solution.
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.
You may want to try a "swamp cooler," a great alternative to air conditioning at a fraction of the cost. Also called an evaporative cooling system. You should be able to get one for about the price of a month's electricity. Do a google search for swamp cooler, and you should find some great deals, and even plans for making your own.
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.
use your garden hose to water your roof (on the outside buddy)
plant trees in front of windows and doors.
move very veerrryy slowwwwwww.
move to alaska.
During the day go to public places that have air conditioning (library, movies, mall, coffee shop) so you don't have to run yours at home and then return in the evening when it has cooled down. Businesses tend to have environment controls to attract people and keep them comfortable regardless of how many people are there. You can save on your energy bills and get out and meet people at the same time.
Buy an energy saving deep freeze and lay in it for a couple hrs. That'll keep you cool while looking cool.
Have you heard of a swamp cooler/ or evaperative cooler? look it up on the net. Estimated cost of install is 1/8 to 1/2 of refrigerated a/c. Estimated cost of operation is about 1/4 of that of refrigerated a/c.
Open your windows instead.
We try to keep the windows open at night if it is cool out. Keep air vents clean and make sure your air conditioner is working properly. If you have bushes or shade trees don't trim them it they start covering your house, we use to always cut, cut, cut and it made or bill higher.
in addition to the usually closing off rooms and better insulating your home. only run your air conditioner when absolutely necessary. Use room fans. If it's hot in the house and cool outside open the windows, and point your fans out your windows, it will draw the heat out and the cool in. We turn our air on when it gets above 95 and the thermostat doesn't go below 85. The house usually stays cool long enough and we pay attention to the weather outside. If you don't pay attention you could be running your air for no reason...it could be cooler outside then inside. Water in the evening and open your windows after, unless it's humid then it helps with keeping the house cool enough to sleep in. Get on the level pay plan. they figure a running annual average and you pay that every month with adjustment payments up or down at month 13.
Keep your shades drawn. If it is darker in your house it will be cooler
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.
Put dark curtains up so the sunlight does not shine through your house, install a window unit in one of the rooms so the air conditioner will not have to cool the whole house, and make sure that the house is properly vented well and has enough insallation
open a window
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.
I don't use air conditioning. I cover the windows with dark curtains during the day and then uncover them in the evening. Then I open them when the temperature is equal. I leave them open all night for increased airflow. I have safety locks on my windows so they can't be opened without being broken, and I'll hear that even in my sleep. In the really really hot days (1-2 days/year) I sleep in my basement.
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