When I drove by the local bank’s digital temperature display a little while ago, it blinked 103 degrees. Wow, yeah, we’re in a heat wave. While I don’t enjoy being warm, I hate paying to stay cool even more. Which is why I’m employing the following 7 tactics to keep my family and me cool–and my bills down at the same time.

1. Raise the thermostat. You may be responding to that statement with a “Whatcha talking about, Willis?” look, but think about it this way–72 degrees or 78 degrees, both still feel way cooler than the 103 degrees outside. So I’ve got my air conditioning set at 78 degrees–much warmer than I normally keep it–but we’re still crisp and cool indoors.
2. Keep shades closed. We are lucky enough to live on a shaded lot, meaning the trees provide a lot of protection from the sun during the hot day. But we keep the inside even cooler by not letting any sun shine in during the hot daylight hours by keeping our shades, curtains and shutters closed.
3. Turn on the ceiling fans. Ceiling fans use very little energy but give your body the “illusion” of keeping you cool by running cool air over your skin. So if you got them, keep them spinning on hot days like today.
4. Avoid running hot appliances. You won’t catch me running the dishwasher or throwing a load of sheets in the dryer today. Why would I add ambient heat to my home–via steam from the dishwasher or the hot air in the dryer–to the house that I’m already working hard to keep cool?
5. Drink lots of cold refreshments (the non-alcoholic kind). I’m keeping myself cool by sipping on ice water all day long. I don’t know if the cold water lowers my core temperature but sure does make me feel refreshed. Just don’t try to cool down with ice-cold beer or something else alcoholic–it can leave you flushed and feeling hotter than before you started trying to cool down.
6. Keep the lights off. Unless every single light bulb in your house are compact fluorescent bulbs, which do not emit any heat, you’d be better off on a hot day like today keeping the lights in your house off as much as possible. Same goes with any other electronic that emits heat by being on–kind of like point #4 with the appliances.
7. Go for a dip in the pool–or at least stick your head under the hose. Nothing brings your body temperature down like having your head soaking wet. So if you can’t jump in a pool, why not set up a sprinkler in your backyard or turn on the hose to cool yourself down. In fact, once I’m done with this post, I’m getting my bathing suit on so I can cool down in the water.

What are some of your keep-cool tricks that don’t raise your bills?