Fight Energy Prices, Become a Fan of Fans

I don't know about your community, but where I live home energy prices are on the rise. Its becoming increasingly expensive to keep the A/C running all the time. Plus, you are contributing to air pollution and global climate change if you aren't cooling your home as efficiently as possible. So are there any alternatives to the energy intensive air conditioner?

Become a fan of fans. There are several ways you can use inexpensive fans around your home to keep it cooler.

First, install ceiling fans. These can be awfully unattractive, but they can keep you cool for about 1/30th the energy cost of an air conditioner unit. Stay away from cheap fans that probably burn more electricity. Make sure the fan blades are turned 12-15 degrees to maximize wind and set the blades to turn counter-clockwise.

Second, place a small fan, facing in, at an open window at one end of your home and another, facing out, at an open window at the other end of your home. You will create a tunnel of air that moves cool air in and warm air out.

Third, setting up an oscillating fan that rotates back and forth across the room will help cool the air as much as four degrees.

Keep in mind a few things. A fan is most effective when someone is in the room to feel the cool air blowing on them. Fans are not good at physically cooling the air, but are better at cooling the surface of your skin, which will make you feel more comfortable. Leaving the fan on all day will probably have little or no effect. Also, do other things to keep your home cool like closing the blinds to keep the sun out, sealing cracks in the windows or doors, isolating rooms that do not need to be cooled by closing the door and adding window tape to insulate the glass on your windows.