Summer is full of fun and celebration, especially with all the holidays and the kids home from school. But it’s also full of, well, heat! The sun beats down on us all day, and it’s so easy to crank up the A/C and get that cool air–until we see the shock of our energy bill for the month.

So how can you stay cool, stop the sweat, and still have fun without blowing out your budget on energy costs? Here are just a few ways to maximize your cooling power without having to run your air conditioning every minute of every hot, hot summer day.

1. Set an A/C schedule for maximum efficiency

One of the easiest ways to save money on your energy bills during the summer is by simply running your A/C unit for less time each month. This sounds obvious, but nobody wants to just turn it off when the sun is blazing, right? That’s why keeping your A/C use set to a schedule is the most efficient way to ensure you cool your house without spending too much on energy.

A/C has to work the hardest when your house is the hottest, so as counter-intuitive as it may seem, the last thing you want to do is have to turn it on in the middle of a scorching afternoon. Rather, the best time to run your A/C is in the morning, when your house is the coolest: Let it cool down the interior of your house gently and efficiently, then when you hit your desired temperature (or a little below, to give yourself some breathing room), turn it off and revel in the cold air while the sun beats down. If you have a bit of spare cash, you can even invest in a programmable thermostat to handle it automatically!

2. Insulate your home to keep the cool air in

We hear all about insulation when cold winters set in and everyone’s working hard to keep the heat inside. But what about the opposite? Insulation is just as effective at keeping cool air in during the Summer, too. This could mean a big investment into adding in-wall insulation to your house, or it could be as small and simple as taping up doors, windows, and other areas where heat can escape. 

It can be even simpler than that, too–do you keep your blinds shut during the day so the sun’s rays aren’t directly hitting your home interior? Do you keep the windows open at night to allow that heat to dissipate? Adopting some easy habits can help maximize the amount of cool air you keep in your home–and the amount of heat you keep out.

3. Keep cool with outdoor fun

Summer is the perfect time to get outside and have some fun, especially if you’re a family with kids. It’s so tempting to stay cooped up playing video games with the A/C blasting, but those choices can come back to haunt you in the form of higher energy bills. If your house is way too hot in the summertime, one of the easiest things to do is just… leave! 

With work, chores, and other household responsibilities, we know this is easier said than done. But any opportunity you can take to get outside, play in a sprinkler, hit the beach, or enjoy an ice cream cone is an opportunity to stay cool without needing to run up your energy bill–after all, you don’t even need to keep your lights on if you’re out of the house. And as an added bonus, this’ll definitely create more lasting summer memories and family bonding than any screen time would allow.

4. Understand your energy bill to plan for the future

You can plan all you want on how to save energy, but if you aren’t analyzing your energy bill each month, you’re missing out on opportunities to identify exactly where you can save most efficiently. For example, you can see when your energy use is spiking, so you can pinpoint exactly when you need to be working the hardest to cut back on power.

Another great way to look at your energy bill is to see whether you’re signed up for fixed-rate or variable-rate billing. Fixed-rate billing means that the amount you’re charged per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of energy use doesn’t change, making it easier to budget with no surprising rate spikes. Variable-rate billing means that you might be charged more for using energy during peak hours, but less during off hours–harder to plan your budget, but you can plan your energy use around when your rates are the lowest. 

By looking through your energy bill and really understanding everything it has to say, you can better implement all the other tips and tricks for staying cool on the cheap this summer–giving you the maximum amount of comfort for the least amount of cost.

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