When the thermostat keeps creeping up, and you feel like you might never get a decent night’s sleep again, air conditioners can be a godsend. However, running an air conditioner 24/7 in the hottest months isn’t always the most economical thing. An average AC unit will use between 3000 to 5000 watts of power for every hour that it’s used. What that means is that you’re going to see your power bill ump by quite a bit when you start using your air conditioner.

While you can’t avoid the power bill increase entirely (and we’re not going to suggest you give up your air conditioner), there are still ways you can lower your power bill even when you’re keeping your house cool.

Here are five ways you can keep your power bill manageable while still keeping your house cool this summer:

1. Use fans

Using fans in conjunction with your air conditioner can make your home feel up to seven degrees cooler than it would if you were using only the air conditioner. This will mean that you won’t have to turn your air conditioner up so high to feel comfortable. Because fans help move the chilled air, it can make a room feel cooler to someone in it. However, because the fan doesn’t actually cool the air–just moves it around–don’t forget to shut off the fan when do one is the room to enjoy it, or you’ll negate any money savings this trick might offer.

2. Use your A/C economically

How you run your air conditioner can play a lot into how much it costs you. Many people get home on a hot day and want to cool the house off as quickly as possible, so they get the air conditioner going and set it to its lowest setting to enjoy the chill. Unfortunately, that means that you’ll probably get used to that low temperature and forget to turn it up. Instead of setting your A/C super low right away, set it as a high as you comfortably can and acclimatize yourself. Doing this can lower your cooling bill by as much as 10%.

3. Maintain your systems

As the saying goes, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” One of the best ways to lower your air conditioning bill is to make sure that you have your air conditioning unit regularly inspected, serviced, and cleaned. Regularly cleaned coils can maximize your air conditioner’s performance, so it doesn’t have to work so hard to cool your home. Companies that offer heating and air Alpharetta can come out on an annual basis to check your units to make sure they’re in top working order.

4. Use a programmable thermostat

Programmable or smart thermostats can help save you money by automatically lowering or raising the temperature in your home. These techy thermostats work by either scheduling or by using GPS-enabling on your phone to track where you are and turn the air conditioner up or down depending on how close you are to home.

5. Close your curtains

Most people think of window treatments only to keep the heat in, but they’re just as valuable for keeping the heat out. When your curtains are completely closed, or your blinds are lowered, you can save a significant amount of energy by preventing the sun from warming up your house.