Running the air conditioning can make an electricity bill skyrocket, but the alternative isn't very pretty, either. Luckily, there are a few ways that you can help your air conditioner run better and save you money as the summer months progress. 1. Quit cooling the neighborhoodIf your home isn't brand new, the cold air inside it is probably seeping out into the neighborhood through worn door and window seals, a poorly insulated attic and other sneaky cracks. To see how well your home is holding in the cold, sign up for a home energy audit with your utility provider or a local contractor. A certified home energy rater or auditor will check your home for leaks and recommend the best way to make your home more energy efficient.Don't want to spring for an audit? Do a mini-audit yourself. Stand outside your home and run your hand along windows and doors. Can you feel the cold air escaping? If you do, caulk around leaky windows and add insulation around doors. 2. Make sure your thermostat is on the right wallThermostat placement can play a big part in how well your air conditioner works.

If you put it on a wall right next to a hot window, for instance, your air conditioner will kick on much more often than it needs to because it will think the room is hotter than it actually is. Here's how to pick the perfect wall for your thermostat. 3. Close the blindsA window letting in the hot sun won't just heat up your thermostat, it'll heat you up too. During the warmest part of the day, close your window blinds. Closing the blinds keeps out the sun. It can also help insulate your windows, which stops the cold air from escaping.4. Use a fanSometimes you don't need to amp up the thermostat to feel cooler. According to the National Resource Defense Council (NRDC), using a ceiling fan can make a room feel 10 degrees cooler and uses 10 percent of the energy of a central air conditioner.If you want to get high-tech, you can install smart ceiling fans that connect to an app. You can schedule the times when these fans turn on and off, and you can control their speed without standing on your tiptoes.5.

Up the temprature Many people think that leaving the air conditioner at the same temperature when you leave the house saves money because the AC won't need to work as hard to re-cool the home. This is a myth. NRDC senior energy policy advocate Lauren Urbanek says that the most inexpensive way to use your air conditioner is to turn the thermostat up when you leave the house. Air conditioning systems operate most efficiently at full speed during longer periods of time. ac unit 1 tonSo kicking it on a lower temperature when you get home will save you more money than the AC cycling on and off while you're away. no air filter in ac unitA programmable thermostat can make it super easy to keep your AC at the right temperature. new ac unit for condoYou can program the unit to work at higher temperatures while you're at work and cool down right before you get home.6.

Setting low is a no-goAlways set your thermostat to the highest temperature you can stand to save the most money. Even a little change in the temperature can save you big bucks. You can save 10 percent a year on your cooling bills by setting your thermostat just 10 to 15 degrees higher for eight hours each day, according to the Nebraska Energy Office. The US Department of Energy recommends aiming for an indoor temperature of 78 degrees F when you're at home.This amazing Bangladeshi air cooler is made from plastic bottles and uses no electricity under DIY, energy efficiency, Environment, global warming, News Summer is in full swing and many of us are complaining about the heat. But few places reach the scorching temperatures residents of Bangladesh experience, and air conditioning is simply not an option for most people living in rural areas. Ashis Paul developed a clever DIY cooling system that doesn’t need any electricity and is built from a common waste item: empty plastic soda bottles.

In just three months, Paul’s company has helped install its smart powerless air conditioners, called Eco Coolers, in 25,000 households, with many more still ahead. The Eco Cooler is reportedly the world’s first-ever ‘zero electricity’ air conditioner, and its inventor wanted to get the concept out there to help as many people as possible. The Grey Group stepped in to help, using its position as a multinational advertising firm to put the plans online, at no cost, so that anyone can build their own Eco Cooler system. Volunteers from Grameen Intel Social Business helped build and install the units, as well as teach locals how to make them, so the wisdom can be passed on. The Eco Cooler method is fairly simple, from a construction standpoint. A board is cut to fit the desired window, and bottleneck-sized holes are cut out in a grid pattern. The bottoms of empty plastic bottles are cut off and discarded, leaving funnel-shaped bottlenecks that are placed on the grid. That’s all there is to the Eco Cooler, except for the task of installing it in place of the regular window.