• Periodic maintenance will keep your cooling system running efficiently.
• Select a central air conditioning unit with the lowest suitable capacity and highest efficiency. Ask your dealer to help you determine what you need.
• Make sure ducts in your air conditioning system are properly sealed and insulated, especially those that pass through the attic or other uncooled spaces.
• Planting trees or shrubs that provide shade for your air-conditioning unit can increase efficiency by up to 10 percent.
• When it is below 78 degrees outside, use a ventilation fan in your attic or in an upstairs window to cool your home instead of running your central air conditioning.
• Clean or replace your air-conditioning filter each month.
• Do not place lamps or television sets near your thermostat. Heat from appliances is sensed by the thermostat and could cause the A/C to run longer than necessary.

• Turn off air conditioners when you leave the room for several hours. You will use less energy cooling the room later than if you leave it running.
• Use a fan with your window air conditioner. It will spread cooled air without greatly increasing your power use.

Summer time is vacation time! When your house is vacant, your electric bill should go way down, right? Well, not always. Many things continue to run in your home whether you are there or not. Here are a few tips to help lower electric usage while you are away:

• Turn off your electric water heater
• Raise the temperature of your refrigerator to 42-45 degrees
• Put security lights on a timer
• Turn off the air conditioning.

Following these simple tips will save you money on your electric bill. And wouldn't you rather spend it on your vacation?

• Close blinds and draperies to keep out daytime sun.
• Electric lights generate heat, so keep lights low or off.
• Cook in the early morning or late evening whenever possible.
• Keep windows closed during the hottest hours of the day.
• Use vents and exhaust fans in the attic, kitchen, and laundry room to pull heat and moisture directly to the outside

• If each household in the United States raised air conditioning temperatures 6 degrees, we'd save the equivalent of 190,000 barrels of oil every day.
• Setting your thermostat colder than normal when you turn on the A/C will not cool your home faster. It will cool to a lower temperature than you need and use more energy.