Turning off your air conditioner not only saves money, it helps reduce air pollution. There are many simple things that you can do to cool your apartment during the warm summer months without running your AC. For example, do not hold your refrigerator or freezer doors open for long periods of time. The appliance will have to work harder to stay at its set temperature that, in turn, will heat the room. The following are some tips to help you stay cool and save energy.
Closing windows and blinds or curtains before the sunlight shines through them in the morning will help keep the apartment cooler, especially windows on the south wall where the sun is the hottest during the day. Windows can be opened wide at night if the outside air is cooler to allow a cool cross breeze to circulate.
Turn off lights when you leave a room. While this tip is aimed at saving energy, it also reduces helps reduce the temperature of the room. Light bulbs, and electronics including televisions and computers, produce heat that can raise the temperature of the room. You may also want to consider installing light bulbs that have the Energy Star label. Those bulbs produce 75 percent less heat than incandescent bulbs.
When the outside air is cooler than the inside air, placing a box fan in the window of your apartment that is receiving a breeze and another facing out on the other side of your apartment will help circulate fresh cooling air. Make sure the interior doors are left open. Another trick that can be used when the outside temperature stays warm on summer nights is to place a box fan in the window so that it blows out rather than in. This will help suck some of the warm air out of your apartment.
Although running a fan in an enclosed room during the day makes you feel cooler, it does not actually cool the air. Placing a cup of ice cubes in front of the fan is a simple trick that will cool the air blown out by the fan.
Using the above tips can help you keep your Waukesha apartments cooler during the summer and save you money. As an added incentive, you will be helping lower air pollution by reducing the load on power plants.