It’s been incredibly hot in NW Arkansas over the past few weeks.  With temperatures averaging in the mid and upper 90’s each day, my A/C system has been working overtime.  I finally relented to lowering the thermostat in the house to 76 degrees.  It had been set at 78 degrees.

Add to that the fact that my daughters are home from school and are constantly in and out of the house, leaving the doors open.  Who knows how much efficiency I’m losing because of this consistent leakage of conditioned air from the house.

Despite that, there’s no question that the unseasonably high temperatures are the main culprit in driving my electric bill higher this month.  I’m currently on track to have my highest summer electricity usage (in Kwh) since August 2007.  This is leading me to move up several projects on the priority list.  I need to tackle these items over the next 6 months to make sure I’m doing everything I need to reduce my energy usage during the hot summer months.

Top projects on my list:

1. Add insulation to exposed return air ducts in attic - since my air vents run through the floor, the only ductwork in the attic is the return air ducts.  Since the attic is 110 - 120 degrees, the much-cooler air from the conditioned space is running through the hot attic heating the air even further.  Then the air conditioning system must cool the air much more before it is blown into the house.
2. Motion sensors on light fixtures - with the girls home from school this summer, I’m trying to train them to turn off lights when they leave the room, but the motion sensors would work much better.  At around $25-$40 each, I will need to be picky on which locations I use them in.
3. Shade exterior A/C unit - while my A/C units are on the north side of the house and don’t receive full sun all day, it does receive several hours of full sun during the hottest part of the day.  Plus, I want to improve the aesthetic look of the units.

That’s the short list for the next few months, in the order that that should provide the most “bang for the buck”.  I’ll keep you posted as I make progress.

Photo credit:  danjaeger