Beat the Heat: Whole-Home Upgrades Can Keep You Cooler and Cut Energy Costs
Want to improve your cooling - improve your circulation - well placed and clean returns and open doors in a home go a long way toward keeping your home cool and regulated at the same temperature. When doors are closed or returns are blocked, thermostats can be fooled into turning the AC off too early, leaving the room with the thermostat cool, while others remain too hot.
From Oregon Energy Trust:
The Dalles, Ore., June 16, 2025 — As we head into summer, help is available for changes that could keep your house cool and your energy bills lower.
When temperatures hit triple digits, plugging in a window air conditioner is a common quick fix. But staying cool often depends on how your entire house works together.
Your air conditioner creates cooler, more comfortable air. But there’s a chance that cool air is escaping and hot air is coming in through many different places. That could mean some rooms feel hotter than others and your air conditioner has to work harder, using more energy.
Experts with Energy Trust of Oregon, a nonprofit that helps people save energy in homes and buildings, say there are three areas where cool air most often escapes.
Gaps and cracks around door and window frames, dryer vents, bathroom fans, and cable and internet lines: Small gaps and cracks are easy to miss, but together they could mean you’re losing as much air as having a window open around the clock.
Walls and attics: Many homes, especially older homes, do not have enough insulation to keep cool air in and heat out. Having the right amount of insulation is one of the most important things you can do to keep your home comfortable year-round.
Older windows: Older windows are often single-pane with worn seals, making them less insulated and more prone to drafts. Newer energy-efficient windows have double or triple panes and better seals, helping keep homes comfortable during hot weather.
These DIY fixes can help:
• Use caulk or weatherstripping to seal gaps around doors, windows, vents and other openings to keep cool air inside.
Dirty Air Filter
• Check airflow. Replace dirty air filters during the summer to keep your air conditioner from working harder. Also make sure furniture is not blocking vents in any room.
For larger projects, such as adding insulation, Energy Trust can help lower the cost. Available incentives include:
• Up to 50% off insulation for attics, walls and floors.
• Up to $3,000 on energy-saving cooling options such as heat pumps.
• Discounts on new energy-efficient windows.
• $100 off smart thermostats, which can help automatically manage your heating and cooling system, plus an additional $50 discount from July 1 through Aug. 31.
Energy Trust can connect you with trusted, experienced contractors who can apply available savings directly to your final bill. Contractors can also perform a comprehensive home energy assessment to help identify additional ways to save energy and lower costs.
Homeowners can also complete a free online home energy assessment in just a few minutes.
Click here for more information on ways to keep cool and save energy with Energy Trust.
About Energy Trust of Oregon
Energy Trust of Oregon is an independent nonprofit that helps people, organizations and communities save energy and connect to renewable power such as solar energy. Funded by customers of Portland General Electric, Pacific Power, NW Natural, Cascade Natural Gas and Avista, Energy Trust programs help lower energy costs while supporting clean energy goals and a strong future for Oregon.
Learn more at www.energytrust.org/residential/incentives.
