Summer is almost here and with longer days and warmer weather comes air conditioning. If you’re in the market for an air conditioner, make sure it’s Energy Star certified.

Like most Energy Star products, Energy Star air conditioners use less energy—meaning less fossil fuels and lower utility bills. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), if just half of all American homes were cooled with Energy Star qualified products, the change would prevent nearly 70 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions, which is equivalent to the emissions of nearly six million cars. As said above, it’s always better not to AC, but if you can’t take the heat any longer definitely go for an Energy Star model.

In addition to staying cool with an Energy Star certified air conditioner, I also recommend keeping the shades down. This will help any room stay a few degrees cooler. You can also install an electric fan (Energy Star of course) and create cross ventilation by leaving doors and windows open. If you still can’t take the heat, then consider “gettin’ out the kitchen” and loitering in some already cool places. Museums, libraries, movie theaters are all public spaces that crank the AC all summer long. Or you can always go to your favorite café. Hang out; grab an iced latte and let “them” pay for the air conditioning.

Posted on June 7th, 2008 by Olivia Zaleski