CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) – It’s possible to keep your home cool this summer without causing your electric bill to boil up too much.

There are things that you can do to conserve the cool air in your home. Running your air conditioner in June, July, and August means that your AC is working extra hard to keep you comfortable, and that comfort doesn’t have to come at a cost.

Experts suggest people use either ceiling fans or box fans to increase air ventilation in their homes. A fan can make temperatures feel 6-7 degrees cooler.

If you want to see savings, use ceiling fans while also raising your thermostat a few degrees. 22News spoke with Joshua Smith of Berkshire Heating and Cooling to learn more about how you can keep your home cool to beat the summer heat.

“The most important thing for a person this time of the year is what we call a pre-season tune-up. You get a company to come out make sure that all your coils are clean and all your parts are working and everything is up like it should be. So that you’re getting the greatest efficiency you can out of your system and you know for sure that when you need it it’s on and it’ll be working,” said Smith.

Smith says that during this time of the year is when equipment starts to break down because it’s working overtime. So the best thing that homeowners can do is make sure that they change their air filter regularly and have their equipment looked at by a reputable company to make sure that everything is operating the way that it should be.

Smith says that it’s all about doing the stuff your grandmother taught you, like keeping the shades down, keeping the windows closed, and stopping the sun infiltration as much as you can.