Energy bills skyrocket in the same way the temperatures do during the warmer months thanks to this culprit: air conditioning, A/C, or AirCon. HVAC.com says that it costs an average of $0.54/hour and $4.33/day to run central air for 1/3 of the day, or 8 hours. That is $134 per month.
- “A 2009 survey showed that 87% of U.S. homes have some form of air conditioning. In 1993, only 68% of all occupied housing units had AC.
- In the U.S., it’s more common to have an air conditioning unit than a garage, dishwasher or even dining room.
- 6% of all electricity produced in the United States is from residential air conditioning.
- Homeowners in the U.S. spend an estimated $29 billion dollars on air conditioning costs.”
-Facts from homeairguides.com
The easiest surest way to save money on A/C is to not use it. Not only do you save money, you save energy which = sustainability.
Check out my video on ways to save on your A/C bill!
Living Without Air Conditioning
I survived a summer in Japan with no air conditioning. Japan is one of the most humid places I’ve been. And this is coming from a girl who spent all summer long in Missouri (read misery).. multiple times.
Live Japan puts it like this: “Summer is humid in Japan, which may make many travelers uncomfortably sweaty. This humidity is due to the “Pacific high”. The high pressure forms over the Pacific Ocean so it contains a lot of water vapor. When summer arrives, it moves to the north and covers the Japanese islands. The southerly winds then carries the hot and humid air from the Pacific Ocean to Japan, making it humid.”
We’re talking 90-100% humidity.
But I still survived! Which leads me to believe that A/C is a luxury and not a necessity.
So if you don’t have A/C in your house, or you’re trying not to use it to prevent skyrocketing energy bills or if you’re trying to reduce your energy footprint, don’t worry, you can get through the summer!
Our bodies adapt to the temperature we are in. That’s why you see people in much hotter climates thriving in homes that do not have A/C.
(And there’s also the whole issue of why must we always be in a climate controlled space instead of adapting #dohardthings #whatdoesntkillyoumakesyoustronger #buildscharacter but I shall lay my scruples aside.)
Here are ways to survive without air conditioning.
Loose Clothing
Just like in winter when you’re cold, you throw on a sweater. In the summer, add flowy pants or shorts and loose tank tops to your rotation.
Loose clothing does not cling to your body and allows the skin to breathe, aka evaporate sweat that helps cool you down. Long, lightweight flowy pants provide shade to keep your legs out of the direct sunlight and are still breathable. We also used handheld fans to cool ourselves off all the time in Japan.
Wet Washcloth
Run a washcloth under cold water and put it on your skin. The back of your neck and your wrists are the best placement as it will cool your body down the fastest. Veins run through these areas so by cooling the blood in that area, you are cooling the rest of your body.. or so my gym teacher told me.
Draw the Blinds
If you keep the sun out, you are also keeping heat out. 76% of sun that hits the window enters as heat. Employ solar shades that will still let light in but keep out sun to reduce heat gain. Here are the recommendations from the US Dept of Energy.
When it cools off at night, open the windows and let the cool air in. During the day, before the temperatures rise, close the windows and the blinds to keep the house cool.
Hop in a Cool Shower
A quick and easy way to cool off is to jump in an ice cold shower. You will be freezing in no time and feel instantly refreshed. While you are at it, though maybe not at the same time, drink some ice cold water. Aim to go through a gallon of cold water a day.
Water Games
Going outside is probably the last thing you want to do when it’s scorching but go to the pool or play some games that involve water: throw water balloons, jump through the sprinkler, ice bucket challenge, etc.
Or you could just stand close to kids splashing around in a splash table and you’ll be drenched in no time.
By not using A/C, you save money and you save energy.
Arguably most important, you are forced to cope in an uncomfortable situation and that builds character. But alas, I won’t push my opinion too hard.. though one could argue this is all my opinion..
But for most out there, those reasons probably aren’t compelling enough to choose to exist in unbearable heat. If you just can’t live without A/C, here are some ways to limit it’s use and still see savings in your energy bill.
Check Your Setting
What do you set your thermostat to? The US Department of Energy recommends “as high as comfortably possible” and 78° on the low end while you are home and need cooling.
Thanks to smart thermostats, you can remotely turn on the A/C on your commute home so you can return to a comfortable house. Even our “dumb” thermostat allows you to set specific times and temperatures for each day of the week.
“A programmable thermostat can save up to $180 in air conditioning costs each year.” While you are at it set a timer for the A/C to run for “X” hours. If you don’t have that option on the thermostat, you can set an alarm on your phone.
Turn off A/C When not at Home
It says here that it’s actually more efficient to turn off your A/C when you head to work (vs. setting the temperature higher than normal).
Air conditioners are more efficient when they can run at a low temp for longer than when they are constantly kicking on and off to maintain that one specific degree.
- Related: How to Rent Your First Apartment
Fans
While fans still require energy, the cost is much lower than running central air. The cost of central air is $4.33/day or $134/month while the cost of running a ceiling fan is about $0.01 per 3 hours of use.
That’s $1.20/month.
Put a bucket of ice in front of a box fan and it will cool the air as it blows.
Cutting back on A/C can have many benefits from saving money to saving energy. Now you have alternate ways to cool down without using the air conditioning.
Prefer to watch? Check out the video:
I definitely agree with this post and enjoy the tips. I love being hot in the summer and don’t like using air conditioning. Now I just need to get my better half on board to turn off the A/C, maybe he’ll be interested if I show him your post on how much money we can save .
Being warm is sooo nice. These Scandinavian blooded men love their cool air. Maybe one day we’ll convince them!
Or visit Lisa! you know it will be cool there! On the bight side I save energy in the winter! A nice 58 in the winter is perfect!
Yeah, I remember wearing long underwear and huddling under a pile of blankets at your house, Lisa, and this was in summer!!! LOL
I remember your cool cool house 🙂 And wow, 58 in the winter?! I’m sure the winter energy savings more than makes up for the summer energy use!
Lisa- I was literally thinking of your house yesterday and how freezing cold it was ?
Lee’s going to love all these tips. He’s always trying to inch the thermostat up higher when the AC/is on. (78 degrees?! ?) Loved the pic of the splash pad and kids!
Haha, we rarely use the A/C and average temp inside is around 82-84 degrees..but we’ve adapted! Let me know if Lee is able to find some flowy pants ?
LOL! I would love to find some flowy pants for myself. I’m even toying with the idea of sewing them!
that could be a fun project!