The Tribune

By Joshua Key

School is back in session, which means summer will soon be on its way out and fall will follow. During this summer, how much has your electricity bill increased? In the US, air conditioning makes up 45 per cent of the average home’s electricity bill. However, in the Bahamas we tend to be more frugal with our costly energy. This means that when summer drives us to run our air conditioners more, our electric bills can skyrocket to easily two or three times more than we pay at any other time of the year.

Today, I would like to share with you some secrets for reducing your dependence on Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) to keep cool while we still feel the summer heat. Does a lower electricity bill sound good to you? I thought it would. Let’s dive in:

• Cross ventilation

This is one way to cool your home that is absolutely free. To get good cross ventilation, open windows on both sides of the home, and the doors in between, to create a sort of ‘breezeway’ - a clear path so that the breeze can easily blow from one side of the building through to the other.

You may want to add stops to the doors to prevent the wind from blowing them shut. If you are thinking about building, it is a good idea to construct your home with easy cross-ventilation capability. This will cool your home when you are not running the air conditioning.When you do turn on the latter, it will have less work to do, saving you money.

• Solar attic ventilation

Have you ever been in your attic on a summer day? Most Bahamian homes could turn their attic into income property via a sauna. All that heat caught in the attic acts like a hotbox radiating into the building below.

In the past, homes and businesses have tried to counter this effect with marginally effective whirlybirds powered by the wind or BEC. Fortunately, there is a better solution.

Easily-installed solar attic ventilation systems can extract hundreds more cubic yards of air per hour than older units, and they run for free from the sun. Be sure to get warrantied systems that can last you decades. Properly ventilated roofs make an entire home feel cooler and more comfortable. This also means your air conditioner has to work less, saving you money.

• Drawn Curtains

Where is it easiest for heat to enter the living space? The windows. Windows allow light to enter the room, and with that light often comes heat. As much as 10-20 per cent of your power bill is the result of heat streaming straight through the windows to counteract your costly, cool conditioned air inside. If you draw your curtains at night and wait to open the curtains until late in the day, that leaves fewer daylight hours for heat to pour unabated into the windows.

• Indowwindow

Perhaps you would like to keep some heat from flowing through the windows, but still be able to see outside? The good news is you do not have to pay a fortune to replace your windows, and you do not have to ruin the aesthetic of your living space.

You can get nearly invisible, laser-measured, custom-built window inserts for your home or business. High quality inserts such as the Indowwindow keep out both unwanted noise and heat, saving you money and improving the quality of life.

• Don’t believe

the lies

When I make presentations to students, I dispel a common myth about air conditioning. It goes something like this: Let us say you get home and it is super hot, around 90 degrees. You would be comfortable if the temperature was 75 degrees, but you want it to get cold fast. So you bump the AC down to 60 degrees. Since you set the temperature all the way down to 60 degrees, how much faster does that cool the space? Ten per cent faster? 25 per cent? 35 per cent? The right answer: ZERO.

Setting the temperature lower does not cool the space any faster. An air conditioner is normally fully on or fully off. If you set the temperature lower, the AC does not cool faster. Instead, it has to work longer to achieve the lower temperature, costing you money. Do not believe the lies. Set the AC to the temperature you actually want, and no lower.

• The power

of one degree

If you are running your air conditioner, bump the thermostat one degree warmer than you would normally. The home or business will still stay comfortable, and you will save money.

These are just a fraction of the insider tips available to help you cut your electricity bill before the summer heat is gone. In our next article, a few more of our secrets will be published. You can be more independent from the power company, and contribute to a greener Bahamas. Why not talk with an expert find out how?

• NB: Joshua Key is general manager for SuperGreen Solutions Bahamas, located on Wulff Road next to FYP. SuperGreen Solutions is one of the premier advisors, suppliers and installers of domestic and commercial energy efficient solutions.