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10 Great Ideas To Bring Down Your Summer Bill




Wish you could lower your summer electric bill?

If you feel like the heat seems to be getting worse each year, you're not the only one. You're also not to only one with high electric bills resulting from trying to stay cool indoors. Staying indoors to keep cool is getting expensive. It's too hot to leave the windows open and AC off and its too hot for the AC to keep up with the heat and keep us cool. The harder the AC works the higher the electric bills get. The good news is below is a quick list of innovations items to consider when thinking of investing in ways to reduce your bill.

 

1. Lower Your Bill with a Solar Attic Fan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Start at the top. If you've visited your attic this summer you know how hot it can get. You can go up dry, but come back down after a few minutes drenched in sweat. In the summer, your attic is a solar heat trap. It traps the heat, absorbs it and stores it in the attic. That attic heat contributes to the household heat and makes the AC work harder to cool the house. Help your AC take it easier by installing a solar attic fan . Unlike a regular attic fan that requires electricity to run a solar attic fan is powered by the sun free of charge. It removes heat and moisture from your attic and helps bring in cooler air.(Buy here. )

 

2. Lower Your Bill with Radiant Barrier Paint Spray

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Radiant heat accounts for 93% of the heat gain in your home according to Acoolerhouse.com. Using LO/MIT paint spray blocks at least 76% of the radiant heat trying to enter your attic. A cooler attic means a cooler house. A cooler house means less work for the AC and this means a lower electric bill.

 

3. Lower Your Bill with a Skylight Cover

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you have a skylight in your home and it's bring in heat into your home consider using a skylight cover. A skylight cover will block up to 80% of the heat generated from your skylight while letting light through your skylight. It isn't permanent though. You can still use your skylight when you want. For example, a skylight cover can be easily removed during the wintertime allowing the solar heat to come in when you need it.

 

4. Lower Your Bill with an Attic Tent

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An attic tent creates an airtight barrier between your attic and your home, reducing energy loss year round. How? The Attic Tent has been proven to reduce air transfer by at least 71% according to the Attictent.com. It also stops transfer of humidity, dust and blown insulation particles. The Attic Tent should pay for itself in one year!

 

5. Lower Your Bill with Green Roofs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Consider investing in green roofs also known as rooftop gardens. Green roofs are quickly growing in popularity these days because of their cooling benefit on homes and business buildings. The benefits of green roof are many. The two most beneficial benefits are: green roofs reduce roof storm water runoff and in keep the rooftop cooler which in turn keeps homes cooler and helps to reduce the heat-island effect.

 

6. Lower Your Bill with Reflective Solar Curtains

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reflective solar curtains allow you to see outside but no one can see in. These curtains also keep your air conditioning and heating costs down by prevent heat loss and reflect heat back into the room. The inexpensive curtains are made of metalized polyethylene. (Buy here .)

 

7. Lower Your Bill with Solar Shades/Screens

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whether you have a home with large windows or small windows installing solar screens can help eliminate bugs from coming in when you open your windows, as well as block UV rays and heat from entering your home through the windows. Other benefits to solar screens are: they help reduce glare in the room, help reduce fading of furniture and carpet, keep rooms warmer in winter, and increases your privacy. (Buy here )

 

8. Lower Your Bill with Reusable Air Filters

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the most important things you can do to keep your AC running efficiently (an efficient running AC lowers your cooling bill) is changing the air filters, but replaceable air filters can become expensive, especially if you live in an older home with irregular sized air filter spaces. To save on replacement filter cost consider buying a reusable air filter to use over and over again. (Buy here )

 

9. Lower Your Bill with a Swimming Pool Heater

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summer is a great time to cool off in the swimming pool, but sometimes the pool can be a bit cold. Instead of investing in a pool heater that uses electricity or expensive solar panels, consider investing in Solar Attic's Solar Pool Heater. No solar panels are involved. Instead the heat from your attic is transferred to your pool. (Buy here )

 

10. Lower Your Bill with a Solar Fridge

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Keep a second fridge in the garage without the guilt of using up a lot of electricity. How? Use a solar powered fridge. This solar powered fridge keeps your food cold with the power of the sun. It operates 24 hours per day seven days a week. Store your picnic food and cold drinks here and eliminate walking in and out of your home constantly allowing cold AC air to escape.

 

Maybe one day we will have solar powered air conditioners to install in our homes, but until then the options above are few ways you can keep your cooling cost down. Yes, the initial investment is high, but paying that high electric bill month after month will cost a lot more in the long run.



Gloria Campos-Hensley
Green Blogger 
InventorSpot.com



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Comments

My summer electric bill is

getting out of hand.

These ideas are really great and I am definitely going to look into some of these. I think the curtains are a really easy way to keep the house cooler all summer long.

Keep up the good work.

Jonathan


adding one more suggestion to the 10

I like the attic tent idea you have. I have seen the cardboard ones before but that one looks more robust.

One more suggestion on how to weatherize the fireplace for summer. Chimney Balloons are generally used to stop cold draft in the winter but they keep heat and humidity out in the summer too.


Radiant Barrier Foil vs. Spray

Radiant Barrier Foil is even more effective than radiant barrier spray. The foil reflects 97% of the radiant heat and the spray (at best) only reflects about 75%. Here is some good info: Radiant Barrier Foil vs. Radiant Barrier Spray

And, it is a great do-it-yourself project, You will notice an immediate difference in comfort (need to raise the thermostat) and energy savings.


Part of the Top Green Blog's Carnival of Greeness

Michelle

Great article! Steps we can all take action on. Thanks so much for taking part in my "Top Green Blog's Carnival of Greeness." Come on over an check out the other Green articles and leave me a comment on my blog!


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