Burning Question: How can I save on utilities in the summer?

Peri Muellner
May 8
2 min read

A student at Auraria asked, “How can I save on utilities during the summer?” Saving money on utilities can also be a great way to save energy in general when you keep these tips in mind.

Air conditioning

Air conditioning can be a huge energy waste, so if you have it, make sure you use it well. Don't turn your AC down too far: each degree above 75 degrees in the summer can save 10-15% of energy used (neep.org). Close doors to rooms you aren’t in, so the AC is only cooling off the places you need it to (neep.org). Make sure you don’t put lamps or TVs in front of thermostats, because they’ll sense higher temperatures than what the room actually is, and produce more cold air than needed (psc.mo.gov). When the air outside gets cooler at night, turn off your AC and open the windows instead (neep.org). Even better than AC is a fan! Fans use 1/60^th of the amount of energy as AC (neep.org).

Maximizing your usage

There are many ways to make your current energy usage more efficient. Make sure when you’re done charging your phone or computer, you unplug your charger or turn off your power strip to avoid phantom electricity costs and energy (neep.org). If you have a toaster oven or microwave, use those to heat up food instead of a regular oven because they use less energy to heat up a smaller space (psc.mo.gov).

To save water, maximize your laundry loads instead of doing more frequent, smaller loads, and wash your clothes with cold water to avoid the energy use of heating water (neep.org). Hang your laundry to dry instead of using the machine (neep.org). If you’re in an apartment building with shared laundry, this could save you quite a bit of money too! Take short showers instead of baths (psc.mo.gov).

Try to use electricity in off-peak times to reduce the load on the grid and reduce your energy bill (neep.org). In Colorado, on-peak times are between 5 and 8 pm on weekdays (puc.colorado.gov).

Preventative measures

There are energy-saving methods that you can try out before it starts getting too warm. You can apply weatherstripping to doors and windows to prevent hot air from getting in and cold air from getting out (or vice versa when there are snowstorms in May!) (energy.gov). To make sure your refrigerator is cooling food as efficiently as possible, make sure the base of it is clean (psc.mo.gov). Vacuum your vents to make sure nothing is blocking air intake (neep.org). You can also close your blinds early in the day so that by the time it gets warmer later in the day, the sun won’t be heating up your room and require AC (energy.gov).