Here is a true story on how we cut back on our electrical (energy) usage during the summer months saving us over $1000 a year. If it worked for us, it will probably work for you:

A couple of years ago, near the end of summer, our central air conditioning stopped working.

At the time I didn’t have $3,000.00 to have it replaced, but I did have $500 to buy five window air conditioning units. (Home Depot had them on sale for the end of the season, but we still had about a month’s worth of 80+ degree days left.)

I put them in, and we used them the rest of the summer.

The following summer, again we didn’t have $3000.00 to replace the central air, so we kept using the window units.

Guess what?

Our monthly electric bill was anywhere from $150 to $200 a month less than when we were using central air! (We live in an area where electric rates are above average.)

We cool the rooms we need to, and not the ones we aren’t using. I figure with rising energy costs I’ll save at least $1,000.00 each year with the window units over the central air.

In summery, if you install window air conditioning units, you can cut down your electric bill by using them to cool down the parts of your house that need it the most, instead of cooling down the entire house with your central air. And you don’t have to completely replace your central air, just use the window units to reduce the amount your central air runs.