Some ideas to keep you cool, save money

Hot enough for you? Looking at your utility bill will only make you hotter. The Alliance to Save Energy is a coalition of business, government, environmental and consumer leaders who promote the efficient use of energy and are offering a few ideas to shave money off that total.

-- Cooling puts the greatest stress on your energy bill and the power grid. Clean or replace filters monthly. Maintain your air conditioning equipment with a professional “tune-up” to save you the cost and inconvenience of a breakdown during the hottest days.

-- Invest in a programmable thermostat automatically and coordinate indoor climates with your daily and weekend patterns, reducing energy waste. You won’t have to remember to turn the air conditioner off when you won’t be home.

-- Lighting adds heat. Consider safer, more efficient federally-rated Energy Star touchiere lamps over popular halogen touchiere lamps which can cause fires, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. While relatively inexpensive to purchase, they are expensive to operate, and create a lot of unnecessary heat in summer.

-- Do “4 for the Planet.” Replace your four most used 100-watt incandescent bulbs with four comparable 23-watt compact fluorescent bulbs to save $108 over three years. If all U.S. households did the same, we’d save as much energy as is produced by 30 power plants annually, according to the Alliance.

-- Turn off everything not in use: lights, TVs, computers.

-- Cut your air conditioning load and reduce pollution by installing adequate insulation in your home, especially your attic — which the Alliance says can often reach temperatures of 115 degrees or higher. (See www.simplyinsulate.com for insulation information.) Weather stripping and caulking will also plug leaks. -- Close blinds or shades on the south- and west-facing windows of the house during the day or install shading devices such as trellises or awning.

-- Shift energy-intensive tasks, such as laundry and dishwashing, to off-peak energy demand hours nights and weekends to reduce the strain on the power grid. Do full loads to reduce electricity waste and costs.

There’s more information at these Web sites:

www.ase.org/section/_audience/consumers/energybilltips