Envious about some things some of you can do - no basements here in So Cal for the most part. We tried to have a whole house fan in - sort of like the one I think was mentioned but our house didn't have the proper venting. We can have the other kind because no one wants to mess with our cement roof. No ceiling fans except one in the master bath and if it is on so is another light and it helps to heat things up. None of the other rooms are wired in such a way that we could add one either - I would love one in the bedrooms but none have ceiling lights that we could switch out.

We do keep our blinds closed and one thing that is helping is late in the day when the sun is really beating on the front of our house is we open the garage a little bit - maybe 6 inches and let some of the air circulate - noticed our neighbors doing this and it really does help - it helps the garage cool a bit and then the bedrooms up above are a little cooler than they normally are as they normally would just bake in the afternoon sun (can't plant trees in front as it is a driveway).

The last couple of years we have been using regular fans much more - sometimes even end up sitting or sleeping right in front of one.

We have a couple of inflatable pools that we use and then we have a couple of portable umbrellas that we put over them. Pools are small but big enough for DS and for my feet - amazing how when your feet are cool you don't feel the heat as bad - as long as you are in the shade though.

We have been doing a ton of grilling and will be doing a lot more of it this summer. I also have a portable roaster - oven type of thing that you can take outside if you want - haven't done it yet but I think I will. I used the oven just briefly the other day and the house went up about 10 degrees. I will also have to start looking for some good summery crockpot recipes - most of the ones I can think of are more wintery and not something I would want to eat right now.

OK, I'm kinda confused right now. Some of you have said that you "only run the AC at night". Why is this? Is it because you are gone during the day. I must have the logic wrong. What I do is run it off & on during the day. At night, it has cooled and we don't run it. Am I doing it wrong?? lol Help me understand, please

Found this online today... I thought it may help someone!

1. Change Filter Frequently

A dirty air filter, he says, makes the a/c work much harder than it would with a clean filter....which means you pay more.

So his Tip #1: Change your a/c filter every 30 days in summer ...not 60 or 90 days, which is normally recommended.

2. Bump up the Thermostat 2 Degrees

We then head upstairs to the next best way to lower your bill....the thermostat.
Jamie says if you dont have a programmable thermostat yet, buy one.

And that leads to his Tip # 2: Turn up the temp: Each degree cuts your cooling bill 3%.

And he says program it to warm the house up 2 or 3 degrees when youre gone.

Jamie tells me "try to keep your thermostat between 76 and 78 degrees in the cooling months....and set it back for 8 to 9 hours when you're at work."

3. Use Ceiling Fans to help A/C

With your a/c set a bit warmer now, Jamie brings us to Tip #3: Turn on ceiling fans to feel cooler.

They cost just $3 to $5 a month to run, compared to more than $100 per month for a 2 ton sized central air unit.

4. Close the Drapes, Dummy!

Then we go to the living room for Tip #4: Close drapes and blinds where the sun comes in. Jamie says yes, its obvious....but he finds many customers don't do it.

He says"you want to block out the sun...hence lowering the cost of your energy because you won't let as much heat in."

5. Clean up your Compressor

And tip #5: Jamie says check your central air unit outdoors. He says you should make sure there are no leaves blocking it, and wash off the cooling fins every year....because dirty fins makes it run harder.

In addition, he says make sure its shaded from the sun. If not, he says, plant some shrubs around it.

One last thing...

One final piece of advice: Gerdsen says do not turn your a/c off completely when you leave your house for the day. If the house gets up to 85 or hotter, it can take at least 8 hours for the compressor to cool it back down.

That's a lot of wear and tear on the compressor.... and your wallet.

__________________

All of the mentioned of course. But also, running an energy efficient fan in front of ice (like an ice block in a tray), is a good way for cheap air conditioning