It’s summer and all of us are already feeling the heat wave! There are a lot of ways that people can do to keep themselves cool. Below are some of the radical ways to keep yourself cool and save money on your electric bill at the same time:

Go to the mall. Some folks stay in the mall not to shop but to keep themselves cooler.

Go to the beach. Some spends time in the beach or in a swimming pool. Just be very careful of the sunburn to your skin

Stay overtime or longer at your office work. Oh yeah, one way to make money and save money at the same time and that’s assuming that there is air-condition in your workplace.

Drink lots of glasses of water. To keep yourself hydrated. Well, you are saving money on electric at the expense of spending more on another type of commodity.

However, if you have to stay at home, then you have no other choice but to turn on your air condition. Trying to stay cool can have a dramatic effect on your electric bill. In fact a single degree farenheit change on the temperature can make the biggest impact on your bill. According to the Nashville Electric Service, the optimum thermostat setting to yield both savings and staying cool is 78 degrees. And if your thermostat is set at 80 degrees, you will save 16% on your bill but you will have to stand the additional heat. Of course, the lower the setting, the higher the cost would be. 

It’s going to cost you 8% more if your thermostat is set at 77 degrees, 28% more at 75 degrees, 39% more at 74 degrees, 50% more at 73 degrees and 63% more at 72 degrees.

So how much would you save by increasing your thermostat setting to 78 degrees? Below is the calculation:

“Take the price of your current electric bill and divide it by one plus the percentage corresponding with your current thermostat setting.  Subtract that number from your current bill.

For example, if you electric bill is $100 and your thermostat is set at 76 degrees, take $100 divided by 1.18.  Subtract thatnumber, $84.75, from $100.  You’d save $15.25 a month! “

Source: Wkrn.com Image credit: NES Power