News

Summer is finally here! For many of us that means keeping our air conditioners and fans on high during the summer months. But if you’re like me, and I get cold very easily, leaving air conditioners on high all the time can lead to wearing sweaters on some of the hottest days of the year. But there are ways to stay cool while saving energy and money in your homes.

Energy.gov breaks down several ways for you to keep your home cool.

• Use the right-sized air conditioner. A large air conditioner does not mean that it will cool down the room faster.
• Place lamps or televisions away from your air conditioner’s thermostat. The thermostat will sense the heat from the lamp or television making the air conditioner run longer.
• Set your air conditioner’s thermostat as high as comfortably possible. The smaller the difference is between the room temperature and the thermostat, the lower the energy bill.
• On very humid days, set your air conditioner on low. This allows more moisture to be taken out of the air as it cools.
• During cool nights, keep your windows open to let cool air in and dispel some of the warm air in your house. In the morning, shut the windows to keep in the cool air.
• Turn off ceiling fans when not in the room. Ceiling fans cool people by creating a wind chill effect, but cannot cool a whole room.

You can also find specific articles on Energy.gov’s website for air conditioners and ceiling fans.

The Library has several books and informational videos on how to properly heat and cool your home while saving energy. Browse these titles in the library’s online catalog and visit your closest library to check them out.

Home Sweet Zero Energy Home by Barry J. Rehfield

Energy, Use Less—Save More by Jon Clift (available at the Scranton Public Library)

The Energy-Smart House by editors of Fine Homebuilding

Energy Efficiency (DVD)

Don’t forget. You can also check out a Kill A Watt Monitor or the Thermal Leak Detector from the library to measure how much energy you use in your home.

To read more articles like this, search for “Go Green” in the search box at the top of the page.