How to keep your home cooling costs low during summer

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Life is about tradeoffs. In order to gain something, you usually have to sacrifice elsewhere. In the warm months, those choices often revolve around keeping temperatures low without spiking utility costs. I know this battle better than most, since I grew up in Florida and now live in Hawaii. Managing the need to keep comfortable with a healthy household budget is a delicate balancing act, and one that I don’t necessarily always manage with grace. Just ask my screaming pillow.

Temper(ature) tantrums aside, I’ve gained a unique perspective over the years on the best ways to keep cool while managing my budget responsibly. It often starts with an assessment of my cooling needs and comparing that to my financial pain threshold. What results is a sort of sliding scale that changes over the months based on the ambient temperature and my real-time family budget outlook. On one end of the scale are cooling options that drastically reduce my home’s temperature but may cause an increase in the electric bill. On the other end are products that help circulate air and may reduce the heat by less, but have little to no impact on my bottom line. 

One of the best allies I’ve found in this daily tug-of-war are popular retailers such as Amazon, Walmart, Target, and Wayfair. The online retailer has so many cooling products for consumers to choose from that decision-making is far less stressful. Whether I need a high-output window AC unit, a simple set of blackout curtains, or something in between, Amazon is almost always my starting point. (Plus, the free Prime shipping never hurts.) The following are a few of my most commonly-engaged solutions for keeping cool, and their respective financial repercussions (or lack thereof).

Window AC Units

In the height of summer, when temperatures reach a scorching 90 to 100+ degrees Fahrenheit, people usually need maximum cooling output. During temps like this, a tower fan just isn’t going to cut it. Sure, it might make the room feel less muggy with some air circulation, but you won’t feel much of a cooling effect unless you’re sitting mere inches from the fan’s blades. The best way to actually cool your space long-term is with the use of a window AC unit. It’s a great way to lower the temperature of a specific room without the astronomical cost of central air conditioning cooling the entire home. 

While window AC units are highly effective at lowering temperatures, they will, in fact, require a moderate amount of electricity, which will increase your electric bill. As an example, a 5,000 BTU window AC unit will increase your electricity usage by approximately 400-600 watts per hour. Because electricity rates vary by region, you’ll need to assess how that might impact your personal utility budget. On average, it could increase your utility bill by approximately $30 to $75 per month. But again, this all depends on usage and electricity rates. 

Nevertheless, sweltering heat can have a big impact on one’s view of opportunity costs. If the price of the unit plus the increased energy fees is worth it to beat the heat, then at least you’ll be informed. There’s also the time of installation to consider. These machines require windows of a certain size, depending on the unit, and will take some time to set up and install before it’s ready to run. Additionally, it’s an option you can use exclusively during the summer and either keep it installed year-round for convenience or remove it during the winter months to ensure your home retains as much heat as possible. 

However, energy-efficient options are plentiful, and the Amazon Basics Window Air Conditioner with Quiet Operation is a good moderate option that delivers plenty of cooling power without pulling as much energy as many other models. Because AC units are the noisiest of all the possible cooling options, the quiet operation aspect of the unit is a nice feature. It makes noise only up to 56 decibels, which is equivalent to a small microwave. That said, there are plenty of choices available at Amazon and Walmart that will cool a room and keep you comfortable during sweltering summer temperatures.

Amazon Basics Window Air Conditioner with Quiet Operation

Frigidaire Small Room Window Air Conditioner

Portable AC Units

Unfortunately for me, I live in a high-rise apartment with fixed windows where window AC units simply aren’t plausible. That’s why I use a portable AC unit. The benefit of these units is that they offer a versatile solution to the cooling problem. However, that versatility comes at a cost. Portable air conditioners use more energy than window units, and they have less cooling power. 

That’s because window units have their warm compressor component on the outside, while portable ones are self-contained. What’s more, a portable unit’s exhaust hose radiates heat as it pushes warm air out. Because of those differences, a 14,000 BTU portable AC unit uses between 1,200 and 1,400 watts an hour of electricity. On average, running a portable AC unit for eight hours a day will add between $68 and $158 to your electric bill a month. Mine adds approximately $125 a month when I use it regularly. While that’s substantially higher than a window unit, it’s the only option for some people. It’s also able to be moved from one room to another as needed, because most are on wheels.

Even with these hurdles, having a portable AC unit in my apartment is still an option that I’m grateful for. When I’m desperate for a burst of cold air, I’d be willing to pay almost anything, and my portable AC unit gets the job done. As with window AC units, you’ll want to consider energy-efficient options like the Domanki Energy Efficient Portable AC Unit.

Domanki Energy Efficient Portable AC Unit

Kissair 8,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner

Tower fans

A good middle-of-the-road technique for keeping your home cool is the use of one or more tower fans. One of their biggest advantages is that they use far less energy than both window and portable air conditioners. They also take up significantly less space. Tower fans can offer a welcome respite from stale humid air, and they won’t cause a drastic increase in your utility costs. A standard tower fan will pull roughly 30 to 100 watts of electricity. That’s far less than an AC unit, and it still offers a fair amount of cooling power.

This option is most effective in the spring and fall months, bookending the hottest days of summer. Because they don’t create cold air, but merely circulate what’s already there, tower fans work best when the air temperature is moderate. That’s not to say, however, that a powerful fan like the Levoit Oscillating Tower Fan couldn’t deliver much-needed relief from high summer temperatures. As with most modern tower fans, this one oscillates back and forth and includes a remote control and LED screen. It even has a 28-decibel whisper-quiet mode and a sleep timer so you can customize your cooling experience. 

Levoit Oscillating Tower Fan

Dreo Nomad Bladeless Tower Fan

Blackout curtains

On the low-cost end of the spectrum are accessories like blackout curtains. These can be used in concert with, or in lieu of the aforementioned electric cooling options. As you might assume, blackout curtains shield your room from the sun’s rays and help to keep the ambient temperature down. While you might think that blackout curtains have to be dark, that’s not necessarily the case. Amazon and Wayfair both have lots of options in a variety of hues. You can also choose the percentage of blackout level you want based on your personal needs. The higher the percentage, the cooler and darker it will keep the room.

Blackout curtains obviously use no electricity, and can actually help to reduce your overall energy costs if you use them together with any of the above options. In fact, 99% blackout curtains can reduce AC energy consumption by up to 10% to 25%. In an economic environment where every cent counts, that’s a pretty sizeable benefit. The most effective blackout curtains are ones that not only block out a significant amount of sunlight, but are also thermally insulated, like the Chrisdowa Insulated Grommet Blackout Curtains. 

Chrisdowa Insulated Grommet Blackout Curtains

Graciella Thermal Insulated Blackout Curtains

What cooling technique best suits your budget?

No matter what single option or combination you choose to keep cool, it’s good to know that online retailers are stocked with a plethora of options at various price points. It’s always the first place I go to maximize my purchasing power and get the best products during the hot summer months, and beyond. 

If you’re going to effectively manage your household budget all year long, then you need to use the best techniques for leveraging every dollar. That starts with making smart shopping decisions on products that can survive a rigorous cost-benefit analysis. That reminds me, it’s about time to start shopping for a new screaming pillow.