Close your windows and doors. In order to get to a cooler temperature inside, make sure you prevent hot air from coming into your space via windows and doors. Otherwise, you will just be wasting energy by attempting to air condition your area. Make it easy for your air conditioner to maintain the area’s temperature by blocking any outside heat from entering your space. This will maximize your air conditioner’s efficiency.
Close curtains, blinds, and awnings. Similar to the previous point, closing your curtains, blinds, and awnings can prevent your A/C unit from overworking. Even though the air will not stream through a closed window, like it would an open one, heat can definitely make it through a window by way of streaming sunlight. Therefore, make sure you are not only closing windows and doors, but also covering them up. To effectively cool down an area naturally, you need to create a cave-like space; unless you want to make life harder for your air conditioner, you are going to have to do without the sun to be cool.
Open up at night. An easy way to keep your home cool, while minimizing stress on your A/C unit, is by opening up your windows at night. Once the heat of the day dies down, the fresh outside air can be a welcome and energy-efficient coolant for your home. Letting out the stale air that has accumulated in your home throughout the day is, not only refreshing, but also aids your air conditioner, as it has to combat less stuffy air tomorrow.
Make use of summer storms. Often on a sweltering, hot day your air conditioner will have to work extra hard to keep conditions inside bearable. However, if a brief storm rolls through or a cool breeze picks up, you can take advantage by turning off your A/C and letting mother nature help cool things down. As such, taking advantage of any natural cooling method will make life far easier for your air conditioner and save you money on your energy bills in the process.
Taking it easy on your air conditioning system — and therefore your electrical service — will mean that, when you really need it, your A/C will be able to come through for you and cool you down with ease. On a lot of hot days, you can often get away with just a short blast of your air conditioning throughout the day. By relying on your A/C less heavily, you will be significantly lengthening its function and lifespan; if you do start to have issues, a visit from a maintenance electrician should be able to clear things up. Overall, being smart with your air conditioning use will allow you to be comfortable all summer long without costing you a fortune in energy bills.