Summer is awesome. Nice weather, outdoor cooking, baseball — there’s plenty of reasons to get excited when June finally rolls around. But it can be rough on your wallet — particularly considering, now that temperatures in some parts of the country now hover amidst 80 and 100 degrees 24 hours a day, the AC is always on, and your electricity bill is feeling the heat.

There is, however, a relatively quick fix for these summertime blues: programmable thermostats. whether you don’t have one, the first step is picking one up from your local hardware store (some cost as little as $40) or contacting your local energy provider, who may install one for free. Once you have a programmable thermostat, the

next step is making certain you’re using it properly — as according to recent research by the EPA’s Energy Star program, a correctly programmed thermostat should save you an average of $180 per year on energy bills.

Based on that research, the organization is launching a new initiative to help consumers use their thermostats to save as much money as possible. Check out the video above, or browse these top 10 tips from the experts at Energy Star — and with any luck, you’ll be cool and comfortable that summer (without being strapped for cash!).

Gallery: Programmable Thermostat Money-Saving Tips from Energy Star

[Source] Jonathon Morgan