5 Biggest Ways to Reduce your Summer Electricity Bills

If you have already received your first electricity bill of the summer then you may be aching to know how to reduce energy use in the home. Those summer bills can be killer since everyones home and everyones hot! You dont have to do ten million little things to save money on your energy bills, though. Just tackle the following five key issues and your summer utility bills will go down in no time.

• 1. Switch to a lower-cost electricity provider. With deregulation of the industry, consumers can now choose the electricity providers that they want to work with. In order to lure customers during the busy summer months, many companies are offering great low-cost deals if you switch providers now. You dont have to change any habits around the house at all and you can still lower your utility bills just by shopping around for the lowest priced electricity in your area.
  
• 2. Develop good habits with your air conditioner. To reduce your electric bill in the summer, you need to reduce what you spend on your air conditioner. The first thing will be to clean and update maintenance on the air conditioner so that its running at its peak performance level. The second thing is to make sure that the house isn't letting in hot air by sealing up leaks and using drapes properly on your windows. And finally, you can limit use by setting your programmable thermostat to the warmest temperature you can tolerate this summer.
  
• 3. Paint your roof white. If you want to spend less on cooling off your home, then its worth it to invest in a light-colored roof. The top choice is a highly reflective white roof. The surface temperature of such a roof can be as much as 80 degrees cooler than the surface temperature of a black roof. When the roof isn't absorbing all of that heat, the sun isn't heating up your home as much and you end up with a much cooler house and lower electricity bills.
  
• 4. Invest in great landscaping. If you want to reduce the amount of money that you spend on cooling your home then you can also use great landscaping to provide natural cooling properties for the home. Strategically placed shade trees are the top choice for affordably reinventing your landscape to allow you to turn off your homes cooling system.
  
• 5. Get out of the house. The more time that you spend at home during the summer months the more it is going to cost you when the electricity bills come. First of all, when you're home, you're cooling off the place and as you get adjusted to the temperature throughout the day it may require more and more cool air to make you feel cool enough. Second, youre using the lights, computers and appliances when you are home which drives energy bills up more. Get out and get active. Spend time in the pool. Find ways to cool off away from home. Let someone else pay to keep you cool!