Dramatically Cut Your Cooling Costs

August 8, 2007 by Marcel

Fan and Dog

A couple of days ago I began putting together a list of easy things you can do to reduce your cooling costs. It appears BankRate.com was looking over my shoulder, because, today, they released an article giving 12 ways to cut cooling costs. Since their list has 12 tips and mine only had 10, I’ll just send you to them!

A few of the tips I’m using/plan to use for my home:

Use a programmable thermostat

I was surprised to find out how little these things cost. It’s definitely worth getting one of these for $50 up to even $200 because you stand to save $100-$200 in the first year alone. I think I’ll go ahead and add that to my shopping list for this weekend.

Use ceiling fans

One of the first things we did when moving into our new house was install ceiling fans. Besides the obvious benefit of making a room feel more comfortable at higher temperatures, it also makes the air seem fresher. You can pick up a quality fan nearly anywhere for $50 or less.

Replace old air conditioning units

Unfortunately, we will likely be forced to do this rather than choose to do this. Our air conditioning unit is approximately 20 years old and is very inefficient. Replacing an air conditioning unit isn’t the most effective way to save money on cooling costs, since you will likely spend a few thousand dollars on the replacement plus installation.

Although their list is quite good, I would add a couple of more items:

Replace/reseal old windows

This is something we are looking to do in the next year or two as well. The windows here are, along with most things in the house, about 20 years old. From checking around, it looks like purchasing a window plus having it installed will be $200+ depending on the quality of window.

Install an attic fan

I’ve heard that 30% of the heat in a house is absorbed through the roof. By installing a simple attic fan in the attic, you can suck the warm air out of your home.

Implementing just a few of these tips could save you 10-30% off of your cooling bill. Focus on the inexpensive items first, as they will deliver the highest return on your investment.

13 Comments so far »

My New Choice said

am August 9 2007 @ 12:05 am

You’ve got some great tips and we have implemented a few of them ourselves. I’m not sure we have saved much with the programmable thermostat so far because my wife and kids are typically home all day.

We did just replace all of the windows in our house, although the cost was quite a bit more than the $200/window that you mentioned. Part of that depends on where you live and of course the quality of the window. We’ve been very happy thus far.

As for the attic fan, I’ve given that some thought as well and have read a few promising articles on it. But I thought the attic fan sucks the hot air up and out the attic as opposed to pushing cool air down. I’ll have to double check.
Brian said

am August 9 2007 @ 6:18 am

You are absolutely right about the attic fan. That’s why I should shy from writing at midnight!

As for your windows, I would be interested in knowing the quality of window and the approximate price you paid. I’ve talked to a few contractors on this, but perhaps they are assuming a dirt cheap window.
My New Choice said

am August 9 2007 @ 9:38 am

From all of the windows that we evaluated in getting estimates, I think we selected the highest quality window we saw and is one that gets the most quality feedback on the various window replacement forums that I was reading.

The brand of window we selected was Schuco and I believe the U-Factor rating on our windows was 0.19 but I would have to double check that. On average, our windows came to roughly $500-550 installed.

That is quite a bit more than the estimate you mentioned but of all the estimates that we received, it was right inline with everyone else but we felt the product was much better. Depending on where you are in the country, you may see better/worse prices so be sure to get a handful of estimates to get a real feel for price differences.

Here is a link to one of the forums that I found very helpful:
http://www.vinyl-replacement-windows.com/
Brian said

am August 9 2007 @ 11:31 am

Thanks for the link, My New Choice. I’m glad I posted the price I was being quoted - otherwise I may have ended up with a bad window installation/lower quality windows.
My New Choice said

am August 9 2007 @ 12:25 pm

No problem. When we were looking, we found that the U-Factor is the important number because that is the overall rating on the heat loss of the window. The R-Value is what many people will try to sell you on but the important thing to remember with the R-Value is it is measured at the center of the window, not over the entire span of glass.

Our windows also all have the low-e coating and filled with krypton gas. In addition, you’ll want to pay attention to the spacer used in the window as some are better than others.

I highly recommend spending some time on the forums! You’ll learn so many things and ensure you are making an educated decision. If you see a guy named Window4U on the forums, he was the one that installed our windows and he was very helpful before we ever contacted him to buy windows. Tell him Derek told you about him!

What brands of windows were you getting quotes for around $200/window? I’d be interested to hear if it is any of the windows we had looked at.

One last thing, the important thing is to set a budget for your windows and get the best window you can afford. It is very easy to spend a ton of money so you need to be realistic about how much you can spend.
Brian said

am August 9 2007 @ 1:08 pm

To be honest it was just a general inquiry with various contractors so I could begin to explore a budget for the windows. I’m sure they either a) thought of the cheapest window they could so their quote would look better or b) didn’t factor in the cost of the window - only their labor. In any case, I’ll be getting educated at those forums you posted soon.

Also, does that krypton gas keep Superman out?
My New Choice said

am August 9 2007 @ 10:32 pm

Absolutely…you can never be too careful!
What Do I Need to Retire? - FinancialDominance.com said

am August 10 2007 @ 6:01 am

[...] Dramatically cut your cooling costs [...]
Sweating Out The Heat : Married And Broke said

am August 10 2007 @ 7:24 am

[...] My town hit 104 degrees yesterday and in honor of that, Id like to post a recent article I found at Financial Dominance.com [...]
Friday Finance Findings For August 10th : Generation X Finance said

am August 10 2007 @ 2:07 pm

[...] Dramatically Cut Your Cooling Costs - It has been a miserable week around here with temps in the mid-90s and the heat index well over 100. We only have a small window unit AC in a 3 story house. Needless to say, it doesn’t keep us cool. One point on this list is the use of ceiling fans, and I have to agree. They can work wonders and cost very little to purchase and operate. [...]
Carnivals This Week - FinancialDominance.com said

am August 14 2007 @ 10:05 pm

[...] My contribution to the Carnival of Money Stories was my article Dramatically Cut Your Cooling Costs [...]
The Friday Gathering for 8/17/2007 | Gather Little By Little said

am August 17 2007 @ 8:15 am

[...] Dominance asks the question What Do I Need to Retire? and he tells us how to dramatically cut our cooling costs. Couple Brian’s tips with my tips on keeping your house coll and you should be nice and cool [...]
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