Set A/C at 78 degrees

The U.S. Department of Energy and most electric utilities recommend that you set your thermostat at 78 degrees during the summer.

Before you leave for work, crank it up to 85 degrees and before you turn in for the night, nudge it up to 82, the DOE recommends.

If that sounds a bit toasty for summertime, consider inching your thermostat up 1 degree at a time rather than all at once if you usually keep yours set at 72 in the summer—as most Americans do.

And consider replacing a manual thermostat with a programmable model so the settings will change automatically.