Summer’s coming! It’s a sweet season in New York City, and sweeter still if you have a few good tips to keep the energy bills down.
Conservation heroes unite.
It starts with the basics…
Go easy on the oven-cooked meals. Crisp salads and cool dishes, and recipes with minimal preparation, are smart choices in summer. Stovetop or microwave dishes are less heat-producing than oven-cooked cuisine.
Have plenty of cold drinks available, to keep your internal temperature comfortable, too.
When you get up in the morning, shut the blinds to preserve the overnight cool air. Energy.gov says heat coming through windows is the reason for 25 – 30% of residential AC energy use. No wonder blinds, shades and curtains have such impressive conservation capabilities. They prevent interior space from bringing in the outdoor heat.
Set the temperature higher when you leave home for the day. Set the thermostat up during the hours you’re out of your New York City apartment home to conserve like a superhero.
This is the best routine for overall energy savings.
We don’t mean YouTube followers. We mean that unassuming but powerful assistant in your apartment: the cooling fan.
Put your bathroom fan and your kitchen exhaust fan to use. They remove the warm air that rises from the stove or the shower, leaving your apartment home crisper and cooler.
And as NYC cools off at night, you might comfortably reap benefits from going AC-free when you’re sleeping.
What fans can you buy online and pop on the floor?
For well under $100, you can get super effective fans that last, and save energy. The Strategist at New York Magazine recently scoured the online reviews, and has reported back on Amazon shoppers’ current picks for the very best cooling floor fans. Here are two models New Yorkers are talking about.
Cool tower of power: the Lasko T42950 Wind Curve Tower Fan. This customer review champion stands 42” in height and has three speeds. At $70 (lower when discounted), this tower wins plaudits for its ease of assembly, its height (great for enjoying a cool breeze at bedtime), and its impressive power to cool whole rooms. Bonus points for the sleep timer and handsome looks.
Best for forty bucks and below: Lasko’s 3520 Cyclone. This little round, pivoting floor fan packs a wallop for its 20-inch size, its owners agree. This fan effectively spreads the coolness generated by an apartment home’s AC. It’s stable and low — perfectly suited for the New York apartment with pets.
And then there’s a tried-and-true, fan-assisting cooling hack…
Place an ice pack of bowl of ice in the air stream of a fan. And let the super-chilled breeze begin.
Looking for a New York City apartment home? Carlyle Property Management offers a cool selection.
Visit New York City in the summer, and you might just want to stay for good. Carlyle Property Management offers some chill spots to live in New York City — including luxury apartment homes in desirable Murray Hill, Midtown East, and the Upper East Side.
Call us at 212.682.7300. Allow us to take the heat off your apartment search and make you a fan of city living.
