Reduce indoor heat from appliances, cooking, and lighting

Shift heat-producing activities to cooler hours or outdoors and swap inefficient lighting to stop adding heat to your home.

Why It Works

Ovens, dryers, and incandescent bulbs all release substantial heat indoors. A standard oven can raise kitchen temperature by several degrees. Moving these activities to evening or outside prevents that buildup from working against your cooling efforts.

Steps

1. Avoid oven and stovetop cooking during peak heat—grill outdoors, use a microwave, or prepare no-cook meals instead.
2. Run dishwashers, dryers, and washing machines in the evening or early morning when outdoor temperatures are lower.
3. Replace incandescent bulbs with LEDs—incandescents convert roughly 90% of their energy to heat, while LEDs produce very little.
4. Turn off unused electronics—computers, monitors, and game consoles generate noticeable heat when running idle.

Tips

• A slow cooker or Instant Pot produces far less ambient heat than a full oven
• Unplug chargers and power strips you are not using—they add small but cumulative heat