Turn up the heat on energy savings

With cooling costs accounting for about 20 percent of the utility bill in the average U.S. home, it is a substantial expense for many homeowners. Since sweating it out isn't an option, here are a few money saving tips culled from experts at Georgia Power, the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star Program.

• 78 is great. If you don't know by now, keeping your thermostat at the optimal temperature of 78 degrees is one way to shave energy costs. Dropping the temperature even just a few degrees can increase your bill by three to five percent. If you can't take the heat, turn up the thermostat during the day, then keep it a bit cooler when you are home.
• Be a fan of fans. Ceiling fans (or other fans) help circulate cool air and keep a steady temperature in the room.  If you raise your thermostat by only two degrees and use your ceiling fan, you can lower cooling costs by up to 14 percent. Remember that ceiling fans cool you, not the room, so turn it off when you leave. On cooler days, turn the air off entirely and rely only on the ceiling fan to cool your home.
• Curtain Call. Don't bother opening the curtains each morning. Keeping curtains, blinds and shades pulled, particularly on the most sun exposed sides of the house, will aid in keeping your home cool.
• Filter frequently. Changing the filter on air-conditioning units once a month helps them to operate more efficiently during the summer months. At the very least, change the filter every three months. Have a hard-to-fit unit? Invest in filters you can trim yourself to the appropriate size.
• Get out of hot water (and hot air). In summer, a short, cool shower is not only refreshing but will save you money. Turn down the temperature of water heaters to about 120 degrees. Allow dishes to air-dry rather than using the drying cycle in the dishwasher. You can do the same for clothing if your home is equipped with a clothesline. Running appliances at night also helps save money.
• Seek shade. Trees and shrubs can help shade air-conditioning units, which are more effective when they are placed in the shade. Leafy trees located on the south and west sides of the house can also help keep your home cool in the summer. If you don't have natural protection outdoors, move container trees and plants in front of sun-exposed windows to act as shade.
• Stay on top of home and HVAC maintenance. Have your HVAC system serviced annually to ensure it's running at optimum efficiency. As much as 20 percent of the air moving through your home's duct system is lost due to leaks and poor connections, so be sure to seal duct work using mastic sealant or metal tape and insulate all the ducts that you can access (such as those in attics, crawlspaces, unfinished basements and garages). Hire a contractor to seal and insulate the interior duct work you can't reach yourself.
• Know when to fold 'em. Sometimes the only thing to do is invest in a new AC unit. Look for one that has earned EPA's Energy Star. If your central AC unit is more than 12 years old, replacing it with a model that has earned EPA's Energy Star could cut your cooling costs by 30 percent.