Keep Your House Cool This Summer

Air conditioning and keeping your home cool during the summer can be very expensive. Thanks to the the team at MSN we have some cheap ways to keep our houses manageable to live in. Click here to read the article or begin below.

"27 Cheap Ways to Keep Your House Cooler"
By MSN Real Estate 

Sure, go ahead and turn that thermostat up to 80. You'll be sweaty and still shelling out a bundle -- unless you take other steps to make summer heat more bearable and reduce stress on your air conditioner.

Most of these cost little or nothing. Thank the Department of Energy's Energy Savers program, which provides most of these tips (and more) on its own Web site.

Get the most from your air conditioning

•Open windows and use portable or ceiling fans instead of operating your air conditioner. Even mild air movement of 1 mph can make you feel three or four degrees cooler. Make sure your ceiling fan is turned for summer -- you should feel the air blown downward.

•Use a fan with your window air conditioner to spread the cool air through your home.

•Without blocking air flow, shade your outside compressor. Change air filters monthly during the summer.

Click here to read the entire article.