Whether you wish to keep your cool without central air conditioning or simply want to reduce the burden on your existing system, here are some things you can do. See also How to Cool Your House Without Air Conditioning and How to Maximize Energy Efficiency When Heating or Cooling Your House for more ideas.
* Turn off the lights. Or at least as many as possible. Incandescents, in particular, generate more heat than you might think. So when they aren’t needed, and especially when your air conditioner is running, just turn them off.* Save the hot stuff for later. Tasks such as clothes drying and cooking can make an already hot midday even hotter. When possible, save these jobs for the early morning or evening, when temps are cooler.
* Ventilate. Let hot air out of your attic (and, hence, your whole house) by installing a ridge vent and possibly roof vents. And let cooler air be drawn in by soffit or eave vents. Call a professional roofer for installation details. (For more on ventilation, see Ventilating Your Home and Understanding House Vent Options.)
* Install skylights. In homes with high ceilings, double-glazed skylights that open and close can help ventilate hot air in the summer months. These come with many options, including low-E (low-emissivity) glass, motorized controls, and rain sensors.
* Become a fan of fans. Electric fans, ceiling fans, box fans, and whole-house fans can all contribute significantly to cooler temps in your home. Using an electric fan instead of your air conditioner delivers cool air exactly where it is needed, rather than chilling out the entire house. Ceiling fans pull cool air from the ground to the ceiling, where hot air usually rises and lingers. Box fans, when positioned in windows at night, suck hot air out of your home and bring in cool air from other open windows. Whole-house fans, installed in the attic, work in a similar way, but even more efficiently and powerfully. For more information, see How to Install a Ceiling Fan and Whole House Fans Buying Guide.
* Turn on the sprinkler. Not just a great way to cool off the kids, sprinklers turned on at sundown can prevent lawns and pavement from radiating heat stored up throughout the day. And that makes for milder nights without putting a strain on your air conditioner.* Keep things shady. Plant trees or large shrubs, build trellises or awnings, or install shade cloth outside of western- and southern-facing windows to keep sun out during the hot summer months. If planting trees, use evergreen varieties in climates that are hot year-round and deciduous types in regions with colder winters—evergreens, which never lose their foliage, will provide coolness throughout the seasons, while deciduous trees, which drop their leaves in the fall and winter, will let sunlight pass through to your house during the cold months.
* Speaking of shade… keep your air conditioner itself in a shady location. A shaded unit will not have to work as hard as one sweating away in the hot summer sun. When installing a new unit, try to place your condenser on the shadiest side of your house or plant vegetation nearby to shelter your system from the heat.
* Pick a good fit. Know the square footage of the room or house you wish to cool, and choose a room or central air unit that precisely meets your needs. You don’t want to get a unit powerful enough to cool a big house if you just have a tiny apartment. Conversely, a unit with only a small cooling capacity will not properly chill a larger space. For more information on how to make a good selection, see Central Air Conditioners: Cooling Capacity or How to Choose the Right Size Room Air Conditioner.
* Maintain your air conditioner. Taking steps such as changing your air conditioner’s filter and cleaning its evaporator coils will keep it running efficiently and extend its lifespan. For more, see How to Clean an Air Conditioner.
