Summer in North Carolina can be a wonderful time. There are tons of places to spend a hot summer weekend – in the mountains, at the beach, or any of the cities trickled in between, each with their own unique personalities.

But when you are not enjoying a little time off, keeping cool in the home and savings on energy bills is essential, not too mention it could even mean a little extra cash for some summer fun.

Here are five tips to help you save on your electric bill.

• Change the filters in air conditioner – Dirty air conditioner filters restrict airflow. Which makes your air conditioning unit has to work extra hard in order to pump cool air through your home. This results in an inefficient  air conditioning system that costs you more money than necessary. There are filters that need to be swapped out once per month. Check your air conditioning unit to see what is recommended.

• Close your closet doors – Closing the closet doors in your home will reduce the amount of square footage that your unit has to cool. An air conditioning unit will try and cool every inch of your home you leave available. Closing off lesser-used parts of your home will reduce the energy used to cool your home, thus reducing your bill.

• Keep some of your windows covered – Figure out which windows in your home receive the most direct sunlight. Make sure you buy blinds or curtains to cover them. In doing this, you will be able to reflect some of the heat before it ever gets into your home. Consider using white or light-colored blinds or curtains as the color white reflects light best.

• Buy a Dehumidifier – This is especially important for us North Carolinians. Not only do we have to deal with the heat, the humidity is at times, far worse. Without the air feeling damp and thick you can hangout or sleep comfortably in an 80-degree home or apartment.

• Spend more leisure time in your basement – Since heat rises, if you’re lucky enough to have a basement in your home, it a safe bet that it is much cooler than the upper floors. By spending most of your downtime below ground, you will be able to leave your air conditioner off or at the very least set it higher than usual for longer periods of time.

Hopefully these tips will help you stay cool while you’re at home while allowing you to save a little money. Have a great summer and enjoy all North Carolina has to offer!