8 Ways to Passively Cool Your Home, Office

As temperatures soar in many areas across the country, homeowners are looking for relief while also keeping their utility bills in check.

Steve Wilson, director of technical underwriting at home insurance group Hippo, says “passively cooling” your home will put less burden on your air conditioning to manage the indoor temperatures. After all, he warns, cranking up the AC to lower the indoor temperature will cause your system to work harder and lead to soaring energy costs. Wilson’s advice: Keep the thermostat to a commonly maintained temperature throughout the day—it should vary no more than 10 to 15 degrees, even while you’re away—and rely on other steps to keep your home cool.

“Surprisingly, there are things you can do to keep cool while maintaining your energy costs and, in turn, energy usage by maximizing efficiency of cooling systems through DIY home maintenance and upgrades,” Wilson says. He offers the following tips: