Hot Summe? Cheap Ways Seniors Keep Cool!

How Can Canadian Seniors Save Money on Cooling Costs During Hot Summer Months?

Summer is on its way, and with it high costs of keeping cool- unless you can use some of these savvy ways to reduce your cooling costs. 

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According to an article I just read, it can cost $300 to run an air-conditioner through the summer months, but only $6 to run an electric fan. Apparently, last year many Canadians ditched their air conditioners in favour of using cheaper ways to stay cool and only 5% of Europeans have an air conditioner.

5 Ways to Use Your Air Conditioner Less

Here are five things that you might try that can help you keep your cool.

1. Switch to God's timing - live life the way we were intended to - in the cool parts of the day. 

"And it was the evening and the morning- the first day." People in countries where it is really hot do not do anything in the heat of the day. Even in Germany, until quite recently, everything would shut down in the middle of the day and people would take a nap after lunch. 

2. Unplug all electrical appliances during the day - this includes chargers and power cords. Try not to use any lights. It is amazing how much even a charger will give off and your refrigerator? Wow! It can get really hot too! You can reduce the possibility of food spoiling by not buying as much perishable food or freezing reused water bottles and tucking them in among your food in the refrigerator.

3. Avoid opening doors, windows or curtains between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. You can also put tinfoil or a thin emergency blanket from a Dollar store shiny side out on your window to reduce the heat coming in. Heavy drapes or quilts on your windows can also help keep heat out.

4. Cool yourself. Eat cooling foods like cucumber and iced spearmint tea ( bonus for senior ladies - supposedly decreases testosterone). Put a cool damp cloth on your neck. Or wrap a cool long-sleeved damp shirt around your head like a turban. Laying down is cooler than sitting up and laying on a smooth floor is usually cooler than laying on a bed and less dusty too.  Really hot? Put some frozen water bottles in your tub, cover with a sheet or blanket and lay on those. Do not lay directly on anything frozen and be careful not to get cold in your kidneys. You can also place frozen water bottles on an absorbent towel in front of a fan. Hand sanitizer on the back of your neck can also cool you off quite quickly - but be careful not to get it on any cuts or scrapes - ow!

5. Get out. Use someone else's air conditioning. Leave your place before 10 am. and try to plan to stay out for the whole day. If there are no cooling centres, or libraries  in your area, go to the park and find a shady tree. Another option is to spend the hottest part of the day searching out a great deal on something you can thaw and eat - like a small bag of frozen peas in the freezer section at the local grocery store. Buy one frozen thing that you can defrost and eat, put it close to you and after it defrosts, and you eat it. Repeat. 

Sources:

• Stats from The Peek eNewsletter June 11,2024

About This Author

Sister Su is grateful to God for keeping her alive. She is a Trent/Queen's Concurrent Education graduate with over 20 years of teaching experience. She writes on several blogs, has a YouTube channel and is most easily reached through Twitter @Sister_Su See her link tree for more details:@Sister_Su | Linktree

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