How to keep your house cool during the hot streak


July 21, 2011 at 10:10a.m.

Some house-cooling tips from Mark Durbin from FirstEnergy:

  1. Shut vents and close doors in unused rooms. “Don’t pay any money to cool those rooms down,” Durbin said.

  2. Set your air conditioning unit to a higher temperature. Durbin says for increasing the thermostat by one degree can save 3 percent on energy.

  3. Don’t have a lot of electric devices near the thermostat. “Your air conditioner is going to work harder even though it doesn’t have to,” Durbin said.

  4. Close shades and blinds. Durbin says it’s an easy way to keep the hot sun out and the maximize the cool air inside.

  5. Defer using appliances that give off heat. Stay away from using the oven or range. “That’s going to be advantageous because you’re not making your AC work harder,” Durbin said.