I live in Southern California where summers easily reach 100-plus degrees fahrenheit so for me, I say air conditioning is a necessity as I prefer not to spend a majority of my days taking a siesta to beat the heat.

Unfortunately, as an apartment-dweller, Energy Star efficiency isn’t always available to us. Sometimes it is just that horrible fifteen-year old window unit in one room. So how is a person supposed to beat the worst of the summer heat?

Well, if you have an Energy Star air conditioner you are in luck! The best way to beat the heat is a simple programmable thermostat set so it is lower when you are home, say at 75 degrees, and higher when you are not home. 80 to 82 degrees should be sufficient for when no one is around to enjoy the cool air.

For those of us using air conditioning units that are not as efficient as we would like, the easiest way to save is to set that thermostat at 78-80 degrees. This is a tolerable temperature for most people, but if you add an oscillating fan and a glass of ice cold lemonade, it is downright nice.

For those poor souls operating on window or wall units, take heart. Use the air conditioning during the warmest part of the day and open up during the late evening and early morning to let the cool in. If you use fans to cool down the apartment and close up before the heat begins to rise, the apartment should stay much cooler and thus will not make the air conditioner work too hard.

Finally here are a few tips given by Consumer Reports that we can all try:

Delay heat-making chores like dishwashing, clothes-washing and clothes-drying until cooler parts of the day.

Change those heat producing incandescent light bulbs to CFLs (compact flourescent lights) that use 75% less energy and produce 75% less heat than conventional incandescents.

Also, use shades, drapes, and blinds to your advantage. You can eliminate a lot of solar heat by closing the curtains when you don’t need the light like when you are gone during the day.

Image courtesy of Stock Vault.

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