Your apartment can be a refuge in the summer heat without costing a whole lot of money, and these five cool apartment ideas should get you started with the transformation. Instead of beating the heat out of the summer season by turning your air conditioner up to 11, try something less power-hungry and more earth-friendly!

1. Sure, you can always turn the air conditioner on, but give it some help so it can do its job well. That one appliance eats up quite a bit of power; it is estimated that heating in the summer (and cooling in the winter) accounts for more than half of the total power bill that homeowners in the United States pay. Start by making sure your AC unit is clean. Modern units usually have a user-serviceable filter that can be simply pulled out, brushed or washed clean, and slipped back into its slot. If your AC is more than a few years old, consider having it professionally serviced. Also, make sure the cold air is not leaking out of the room. Close the doors and windows and seal the spaces under your doors with rolled-up blankets.
2. Don’t make your air conditioner fight to keep the temperature down. Block sunlight coming in through the windows with heavy drapes. Also, the kitchen shouldn’t be the first air-conditioned room in your cool apartment. All that heat radiating from the stove and oven, even long after you’re done cooking, will make the AC work much harder.
3. Consider electric fans. Even two electric fans running at the same time will use up much less electricity than one air conditioner. Bringing the temperature down isn’t the only way to make ourselves feel cooler; we all know from experience that feeling a breeze in our faces is also very effective. And if you do have an electric fan, make sure to keep it clean. Dust collecting on the fan grill will bring efficiency way down even before it gets thick enough to see. Also, nobody is stopping you from getting that air conditioner and electric fan working together.
4. Root out the heat producers. Incandescent bulbs produce much more heat than fluorescent lights. Turning on a minimum of lights produces a minimum of the heat of course. Heating food on the stove will radiate more heat into the air than when done in a microwave oven. Older television sets, radios, and electrical appliances in general produce a surprising amount of heat.
5. If you have guests and must therefore keep the lights and AC on, don’t forget the fact that serving alcohol or hot beverages such as coffee or tea will make people feel hotter while serving salads, cold sandwiches, and fresh fruit will be much better.