[Diane]

In Michigan and our electric & gas provider is doing on-peak/off-peak hours starting June 1st. For Mon-Fri from 1:00pm until 8:00pm the energy rate charge will nearly triple (because energy demand is high in summer).

We are “late birds” so doing dishes and laundry after 8p will be totally feasible. But, my hubby and 4 kids will be home all day consistently.

What are some impactful yet subtle ways we could add to energy savings but most importantly stay cool? Front faces west and has a large tree providing some shade.

We have curtains and blinds and have a couple ceiling fans as well as smaller, portable fans.

Youngest has down syndrome and has issues regulating his body temperature and is tube fed so we are trying to be creative and comfortable without breaking the bank!

[Wanda]

Maybe motion sensing light switches do they turn themselves off when no one is in the room

[Jessy]

My simplest advice, also Michigan resident, is to try TRY to prepay/put credits on your account.

That’s what I’ve been doing, a few times this year so far I’ve had a few extra hundred dollars and have prepaid it to my consumers or dte account and both now have credits on them so no current payments due

I know it’s not feasible for everyone but if ever in a windfall zone financially it’s a good idea to prepay on utilities that allow itA

[Diana]

4’x8′ foil survival blankets that Rescue and Ambulance carry. I tape them under my drapes, over the windows, and it makes a 20-degree-plus difference.

They’re $2 online, “Mylar survival blanket”.

[Rhonda]

If your hot water hear is where you can do it, turn it down in the day. I am 66. When I was a kid, our hot water heater was right by the kitchen.

When mother would go into the kitchen to cook she would tell me to go turn it up on high.

She would cook, we ate, while it warmed up, then she would wash dishes while I got my bath, daddy, right after me then mother before she went to bed.

She would turn it down to low when she went to get her bath.

That meant almost 20 hours the hot water heater was on low. We did it without even thinking about it.

Now a days you can buy timers that cut on and off at certain times and blankets to wrap around it to keep the water warmer longer.

Me, now 66, goes to dollar tree and buy led light bulbs 2- $1.25. You can read on the box, it tells you an example.

If you burn this bulb like 12 hour days, it will cost you $1.35 a year. Shines like a regular bulb and comes in 40, 60, 100, just like all bulbs for what brightness you want.

I have them all over my house, including front and back porch.

I have 3 that I never turn off, then normal usage on the rest. I just got my bill for June and it is $77.

[Cathy]

I am in southeast Michigan and cannot see where they announced this June 1st change in rate charge.

Can you share where you see this? Tia!

[Donna]

Can you install solar panels? Buy inexpensive silver looking front car windshield shades tape them to house windows to reflect sun during hottest part of the day… leave a/c thermostat around 78 run ceiling and or floor fans..

with your young one like in one specific room put in a small window a/c unit,,, in that room play games, read,, do coloring books, do puzzles,, anything that uses little amount of power… (one time when we rented a house the outdoor a/c unit bit the dust,, put small window a/c unit in,, we played cards in the bedroom, ate in there, watched tv, us 3 slept in the cold room until main house a/c unit was fixed..

turn off hot water heater during the day…instead of using large oven use a small toaster broiler oven,, if you have a grill use it to cook on, so fridge not open so much fill a cooler with anything the family drinks & load up with ice,,

use paper plates, plastic cups / utensils & once used recycle them… make lots of homemade popsicles to help stay cool,,,

we cook lots of casseroles we eat some then divide up freeze til needed,,,

with propane being so high we don’t use gas stove we bought 2 single electric burners (on Amazon) cook on them… turn off / unplug any appliances heard they still draw power,,, years back I hung up clothes outside on clothes line.. just a few idea’s…

good luck.

[Rita]

Think about a room AC for the main room. We did this in the 1960’s when central air was rare.

We curtained off rooms not cooled. We slept in that room, too.

Doing this will mean your central AC can be set to 80–enough to remove humidity.

A ceiling fan helps circulate air.
Kids can wear wet t-shirts.

So many people now have a 2-degree of comfort mindset. The 1950’s and 60’s had many people with heath conditions.

We learned to cope.

[Merri]

Open windows at night and use fans to Draw in cool nighttime air.

Close windows and curtains early each day before it starts heating up outside.

[Melanie]

Use blackout curtains, especially if your windows are not insulated. That really helped my electric bill!

[Laurel]

Cooling blankets. I saw them on sale at Walmart. My daughter bought one for her dogs several years ago, so I thought I’d try it.

Sat on it for about 5 minutes and my but was frozen.

[Darla]

If you have ceiling fans, make sure you change their direction to counterclockwise in the summer.

If you have a multi-story home, consider sleeping on the lower levels in the summer.

Unplug unnecessary cords to eliminate the draw on electricity, even when items are turned off.

Eliminate overhead lights as much as possible. Use LED task lighting when necessary.
Charge devices during off-peak hours.

I have been using my electric skillet and air fryer instead of the stove top and oven.

When your replace your appliances, consider the energy efficiency.
Our old refrigerator was an energy bandit.

We use free standing fans where we don’t have ceiling fans to circulate air while keeping the house at a warmer temp.

The air movement helps!

I keep the windows and sliding glass doors covered when the sun generates too much heat.

[Dennise]

Staying wet in cooling, can the kids play in a hose/sprinkler or baby pool? Older kids can use the baby pool just get wet if too old to play in it, or use to fill water guns (or wet those small pool balls).

Cool baths/shower after playing outside?

My son was little when we went to an amusement park in Texas, in July.

I took a bandanna, soaked it in water then tied on his head.

[Lynn]

Our electric co in SC started peak billing last winter and it has been a mess. Peak hours for winter are 6-9am, and summer is 3-6pm.

My husband and I are retired so we’re able to adjust by not using any major appliance between those hours but it has hit family’s hard for the winter hours when people are getting ready for work and kids for school.

Some bills have skyrocketed from about 200 to over a thousand. Peak kw billing is $14.00 per kilowatt used.

[Pamela]

2 things I actually have black out curtains hung on the outside of my sliding glass door in the back of my house that faces east and it really helps it keeps the sun from even hitting the glass so it stays much cooler and I know here in California where I am at you can get a discount on electricity if you or someone in your house has medical issues that require electricity to be healthy and safe so you might want to look into that

[Tara]

I live in the southwest.
San Diego.
I put solar panels in that cost less per month (owned) than the energy bill.

After five years those panels are still working at 100%
Maybe look into that where you live?

[Rose]

Maybe look into your state/electric company ADA rules/rates? I know where we are they give lower rates to households that have to run medical devices and to me, it sounds like having your air on is a medical necessity with tube feeding and lack of body regulating.

[Author]

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