4 Summer Energy Savings Tips to Implement as Summer Winds Down

Summer’s winding down. But is COVID?

It’s hard to say. Employers are slowly returning workers to the office. Yours may or may not have changed their work-from-home policy.

And then that policy might change again right away if the COVID delta variants wreak too much havoc.

So you have a good chance of being stuck at home here for a while. And as that happens, here’s some energy savings tips to keep in mind.

We try to keep it fresh. So hopefully you haven’t thought about implementing these yet:

1. Using More Fans

You’ve heard us talk about using ceiling fans to help you feel a little more cool. By the way, you do have yours set to spin counterclockwise, don’t you?

When yours spins that way, it pushes more air on your body, which makes you feel cooler. It really doesn’t do anything for the actual air temperature.

Nonetheless, because you feel cooler, you’re less likely to turn up the AC thermostat.

As the Texas heat subsides, consider switching to all fans instead of relying on your AC system. Your AC is the biggest user of energy in your home.

2. Collect Water with a Rain Barrel

This is a little more “hardcore” of an energy savings tip. But it does work.

Relax. You don’t need to collect rainwater for drinking or bathing.

Instead, you collect it for other uses: gardening, lawn care, cleaning tools, play, washing a concrete driveway, washing your mailbox, or even washing the windows on your car or home.

Won’t this attract mosquitoes?

No, it won’t if you add a quarter cup of vegetable oil each week.

3. Watering Your Lawn

The Texas heat isn’t any nicer to your lawn than it is to you personally.

And it can cause a lot of chaos with your water bill too.

But you can outsmart the heat by watering your lawn only in the very early morning or right before dusk.

When the sun is low, it doesn’t evaporate nearly as much water. So the vast majority of it goes to use helping your grass stay healthy.

4. Use an Energy-Efficient Dehumidifier

We don’t have as much humidity as other Southern states. But it still comes from time-to-time.

By using a dehumidifier to keep the air in your home comfortable, that puts less stress on your AC, which isn’t as efficient of a machine.

So, make sure the dehumidifier you get is an energy-efficient one so that it’s the perfect partner.

Keeping cool in the Texas summer and also keeping your energy bills low isn’t easy.

But with these tips on your side, you have a great chance at doing both.