We do a combination of several things - ceiling fans and central air (heat pump). We raise the thermostat five degrees compared to winter time. We also keep the blinds and drapes closed on the side of the house where the sun is shining. Our home stays nice and cool and the electric bill is low!

Just like Imrwentzel when we built our house I made sure we had windows on all sides for a cross draft. All day we leave the windows and drapes closed, then about 7pm until 8am everything is open wide.

Keep things closed on the sun side. I prefer fresh air and fans but sometimes it not enough. We have a portable AC unit but seldom use it and then usually only on the dehumidifier setting.

AC is essential in central & south Georgia!

I hardly ever turn off my AC. We came to Chicago from Oklahoma. I never turned it off there either. Summer is 70. Winter is 68. I am allergic to everything here, especially the air.

Well, in the spring and fall, when daytime temps are in the high 80s/low 90s, the overnight temps will be in the 50s and 60s, so we can open the windows at dusk and close them by dawn to trap the cool air inside. When the temps go up in May and June, it means using an evaporative cooler, drawing outside air over cool water-soaked medium and pushing it into the house, which forces the warmer air out the open doors, windows and vents. When the ambient humidity rises in July, none of the above work, so its all A/C, and it will continue to run all night long and even before sunrise the outside air will be warmer than inside the house. Ceiling fans let us keep the A/C thermostat a good 2 degrees higher than if we didn't use them. Well worth having them installed.

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Open windows at night if it cools down enough (74 or lower). Run whole house fan to cool if necessary. Close windows in the morning, close blinds on sunny side. Run furnace fan to circulate cool air from basement. Once it gets to 80 inside, I will turn on the AC, set to 75. Sometimes it takes 2 or 3 days for our house to build up that much heat. We have increased our insulation and have big shade trees on the south and west side of the house.

We keep our house cool by keeping all windows open ( at night especially ). When we moved in we decided to not tear down two mature blue spruce trees which help tremendously! Also a couple small portable fans, and when those aren't enough, the central A/C. We try to use the least amount of electricity as possible when it comes to cooking our house.

I live on the Eastern Shore of Lake Ontario where there is rarely a day with out a nice breeze. On the few still days, if it's humid, window a/c units with ceiling fans are more than sufficient!

I just moved to Tucson. You turn on the central air and leave it on...hey, it's 106 out there. I am a little disappointed to discover that it only cools off about 20-25 degrees at night in summer...as I write this, it's just before 6 a.m. and 79. But fall, winter, and spring will be wonderful!

Have motorized/automated shades with a very small stack to keep the view and at the same time when the sun is out and hitting on the window that shade can be programmed to close even when you are not home! Google automated shades by Lutron! Also, Hunter Douglas and Graber shades. Hope that helps.

I learned from a good friend to keep my furnace fan running all year (and no it does not wear the furnace down early or take much electricity) this way I can keep my heating and AC to a minimum. My thermostat stays at 77-79 degrees in the summer and at 72-74 in the winter. My ceiling fans also are on year round, reversing the circulation in the winter. I am comfortable with very little money spent. I also keep my cellular blinds down in the summer afternoons when it gets stifling hot in my front room. Also using the deadbolt on my exterior doors helps keep the cold/heat out too. When the temps get below zero, bubble wrap goes on my patio door and some other windows which makes a dramatic difference too. My heating and AC bills are lower than most people I know without giving up comfort.

I live in Albuquerque where evap is pretty much the norm. Yesterday it was 103 outside, and 77 inside. With ceiling fans running, it was reasonably comfortable. I know many people who complain vociferously about their evap. I suspect that their systems aren't well maintained. Every spring my husband spends a weekend getting the cooler ready for use. Not nearly so convenient as just turning on the AC, or refrigerated air as it's called here, but our electric bills are miniscule. We investigated getting solar panels, but the representative told us we aren't good candidates. Our electricity use is so low that there wouldn't be a break-even point on the cost of the panels within the life span of the panels. I like evap also because you are constantly pulling in fresh air and exhausting stale air instead of just recirculating it. The wet pads that the incoming air is pulled through filter out dust and pollen while adding a little much need humidity to the house. I know! Wanting more humidity is a foreign concept to most people. High humidity here is when it gets in the double digits. I really feel sorry for people living places with high heat and humidity. I would have to run the AC 24/7 too.

We just added canvas shutters on the south end of our house. AMAZING the difference in our bedroom now! The two of us installed them easily. We bought them from Home Depot. They keep the glass shaded and much, much cooler on the outside thus the room is cooler inside where we have AC and ceiling fans. Even if they fade in a few years, only $100 to replace. Maybe we'll try a new color in a few years! :) We also added a sun screen to the west-facing window which blocks 90% of sun and UV rays, yet you can see out (but not in!) Here's a before and after of our new fixer-upper home. The granite gravel blanket covered all that old, cracked, weedy sidewalk along and behind the house! Fence added privacy. :)

Lots of good insulation which is also needed in the winter as we reach -30C. Positioning our house so that the sun enters the house in winter and does not enter it in the summer. We also have tall trees that shade the house. Open windows when it is cooler outside, allowing cool air to enter the house. Close the windows when it is hotter, not allowing the hot air to enter the house. Although I do like to open one a little so I can hear the birds sing.

Love my windows opens and hearing the birds singing jerryandsusan!

Luv My Bungalow!, Thanks for the comment on canvas shutters. I have been thinking of adding something like that to my south facing windows. Are your shutters exposed to wind? How do they hold up? Out here in the Mojave desert, we get winds that exceed 75 miles/hr fairly regularly.

Caliche Chick

We're in the Rockies and we get hail and winds. We've had probably the highest.... 50mph winds and no problem. THEY DO make noise when it's real windy. They move on their frames. You could ask your local Home improvement guys how they hold up in your area. But they've withstood several hails with zero issue. They're VERY attractive, VERY helpful blocking heat and you can take them down during winter months for passive solar heat. I think we paid about $125 each? And several colors to choose from. Just screw a track on the top of your window frame and screws to hold lower bars. We're not handyman types AT all but together we got them up in about an hr. Some styles don't come with the side flaps. I highly recommend the sides bc they shade 95% of the window morning to evening. Without the side flaps, you're going to get more direct sunlight. Lastly, I had sun blocking drapes inside the bedroom, but the glass still got hot and heated that whole end of the house. With the shade on the windows it's a huge difference. They also make aluminum awnings. I worried those would rattle too much? Good luck!

In Atlanta, where some days the humidity and temperatures run neck and neck, AC is a must! Most people move from air conditioned homes, to car a/c's, to work a/c, to other air conditioned buildings. If you see people dining al fresco you worry for their mental health. Mid-June to Mid-September is almost all indoor living unless you're on the lake or in the pool.

We didn't do any of these choices. We bought the real wood levlor blinds. beautiful and functional. Nice cool house.

Keeping windows closed, blinds closed, ceiling fans and A/C, try to keep A/C to a minimum.

New furnace/AC unit, keep blinds closed especially on the south side; run fans to circulate air and don't set thermostat below 72. This has cut my electric bill in half.

I live in western NY in a small town east of Buffalo. This summer has been hot. Our home does not have central air, but it is super insulated. At night I open all the windows and put fans in some to pump the cooler night air in. Then first thing in the morning before the sun shines in, I close all the windows and blinds/ curtains. On a ninety degree day the house will stay below seventy five for most of the day. I have had people over who thought I had central air on. That extra insulation doesn't just keep heat bills low in winter, but also keeps the house cooler in summer!

I hate always having the blinds closed on hot days so we tint our windows with 30% tint. It cuts the heat like you wouldn't believe! It still keeps rooms bright without the heat. It allows you to see out but makes it difficult to see in so it gives a lot of privacy. It also cuts UV rays to reduce fading of furniture and flooring. Tinting windows is a win-win all the way around!

I pretty much combine some of all the above for each different situation. : )

93.5 degrees outside in the shade. A comfy 70 degrees indoors.

I live on the east end of a row-house-style townhome (no basement). Even in Minnesota, we can get some hot/humid, uncomfortable days. I have no east-facing windows or doors---only south and north windows and doors. When it's really warm outside, and I'm away or at work, I pull blinds and curtains and keep windows shut, and leave the A/C off. Many times, when I get back home, the house already feels cool or at least comfortable. Only when we've had several days in a row of hot/humid weather do I run the A/C, and set it at about 78-79 degrees. It only takes a few minutes to make it comfortable. I sometimes run a small oscillating fan to move cooler air to areas of the house that don't cool down as easily.

We use our whole house fan. Once the temp drops in the early evening we open the windows and turn it on. It moves air at 6000 cfm and blows the air from the house into the attic which cools that as well. Since we have a dry climate the temperature drops 30 degrees at night. I run it on low all night and it cools the house to a point we don't need a/c unless we get temps over 104 or so.

You should consider window coverings. Keep them closed when the sun is on that side of the house. They provide a barrier to the heat by blocking direct sun as well heat outside the home. Yes, fans are great at circulating the air, but keeping the temps down to begin with is key!

We don't need to do anything to stay cool. Our condo is close to the ocean so the cool air coming off the water keeps us comfortable during the warm summer months.

We too, follow the sun and utilize window shades along with HVAC, ceiling fans, and awnings in an attempt to keep our home cool and it actually does make a significant difference. However the result of doing so is a darkened interior which then requires additional lighting and the subsequent expense to create what sunlight would accomplish naturally. Sort of a $$$ catch 22!

I live in Florida and we put in large ceiling fans which do an amazing job of keeping us cool for a good part of the day even with 97 degree heat. However, most afternoons - by 3 or 4 - we break down and turn on the A/C for a couple of hours to cool things down. But we get lovely breezes in the evening, and once I get the HOA to approve a screen door for my front door, I'll be able to have it blow through the house and help cool things down.

We have a swimming pool, but it faces south and the sun beats down on it so we wait until later in the afternoon/early evening before we go in so we don't roast. I'm thinking about getting some kind of shade cloth to cover the pool [something hooked up to the screen enclosure] that we can pull across when we need it.

Another thing I want to do is add more insulation to the attic space. Even though the house is only about 11 years old and there's supposedly a good amount of insulation there already, it does get to the point where it's hotter inside the house than outside.

We keep our a/c at 79 with fans running. We rent our log cabin as a vacation rental and the renters keep the a/c cranked at 70-72

Wondering how many folks keep the ac at 70-72 degrees it cut this off from the above post

I had extra insulation put into a 50 yr old house and all it did was keep the heat in, house was like an oven afterwards, not that it was all that cool before. Now in my Vegas house I keep a/c at 78 and take 2 aspirins and lay down before I open my elec bill in summer. My payback is being able to keep doors/windows open during most of winter, spring and fall and rejoice in my low utility bills during these seasons.

We use fans, open the windows at night and early morning, and AC only about 5 days a year.
Many people keep the same temperature throughout the year, which I really do not understand. We were picked up at the airport by a limo and the driver had the temperature set at 64 in the middle of August! I believe that there must be some health benefit to allowing our bodies to adjust to a different temperature in the winter and the summer.

Windows are definitely a great option for night when it is cooler.

We are in Northern Michigan so we can just open the windows and still stay cool.

AC is a must here in FLA!

Keeping the windows open and using the fan. I am yet to try using a fan blowing over a block of ice.

Up here in Seattle we usually get quite few really hot days. Just keeping curtains closed is often more than enough. When it is warm we open a few windows, if it's really hot we can turn on the furnace blower only and it redistributes cool air from the basement, which never heats up.

In Maryland we have those hazy, hot and humid weeks! I live in an 110 year old house with huge windows and some insulation. We use window blinds, window ac units and ceiling fans to keep it cool. I also planted a tree along the south side of the house to help with some shade.....eventually.

We have central air conditioning, and ceiling fans , and floor fans.

A/C and fan but we also keep the thick wooden blinds and curtains closed.

In our former house in Seattle area, we used a ceiling fan to cool family room and kitchen (open area). Also we had a spa and didn't heat the water so we could use that to cool off. Now is our new home, we have A/C. Don't know how much it will be used - we get a breeze from the slough (river) every day so house should keep cool. Also don't get too many really hot days. Also we don't have the humidity that rest of USA has.

A combination of Cellular or Roman Blackout shades, coupled with central air and a ceiling fan on high helps us to stay cool here in Arizona!

I keep the shades drawn and windows closed we have central air, ceiling fans, I love it. This yr. I'm very grateful for all. We have nothing but 34 to 36c. since July 1st.

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Way to Keep Your Home Cool in Summer.

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Skip the AC, Increase the Airflow.

In many cities, the biggest barrier to comfort is stagnant, humid air. Air conditioners remove some humidity and get the air moving, both of which can be done without the expensive noise of cooling the entire house.

Create cross-ventilation by opening windows and placing fans at both ends of your house or apartment, with one fan facing inward and one facing outward to draw the air through. If you have a basement, use a dehumidifier to draw the humidity out of the air and keep the basement cooler and more resistant to mold. That will keep the ground floor cooler and prevent the growth of unhealthy or toxic mold during those damp summer months.