If you’re looking to avoid a hefty hydro bill during the hot summer months, here are several ways Canadians can keep cool while avoiding cranking up the air conditioning.

“Whether it’s a ceiling fan, a standalone fan or your furnace fan -- those are three great options to move cool air around the house,” Dave Blake, program manager for Ontario-based REEP Green Solutions, told CTV Kitchener.

He said, for Canadians looking to curb their air conditioning usage, it’s important to keep an eye on the forecasts, to be aware when temperatures are expected to rise, and to avoid inadvertently making your home hotter than it has to be.

Rather than the old adage, “if you can’t stand the heat get out of the kitchen,” Blake said, when the weather gets hot, “it should be in the summer time it’s go cook outside.”

Besides firing up the barbecue outside, rather than the oven indoors, Blake offers the following tips for keeping cool air in and hot air out:

  • Keep your blinds closed and your windows open
  • Use a portable cooktop
  • Run ceiling fans counter-clockwise to push hot air down
  • Use your furnace fan to push cool air up from your basement

For those who can’t help but switch on the air conditioning as the temperature soars above 30 C, try doing so overnight opposed to running the A/C all day long. In Ontario, the price per kilowatt hour is nearly 10 cents cheaper during the off-peak hours of 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. than during peak daytime hours of 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Those working outdoors advised to stay hydrated

For those working outdoors, especially in construction and the trades, heat exhaustion and heat stroke is a serious concern as temperatures approach the mid-30 C mark.

Dr. Mitch Shulman, an emergency medicine specialist at Montreal’s McGill University Health Centre, says those working outside should try to work in pairs.

“That’s the key thing,” Shulman told CTV Montreal. “If you think someone is having heat exhaustion or heat stroke, you get them out of the sun, you put them in the shade, you loosen whatever clothing you can, or take off any unnecessary clothing.”

Wayne Knorr with the City of Fredericton says those working outdoors should keep a slower pace when temperatures soar.

“Watch your employees, make sure they stay hydrated,” Knorr told CTV Atlantic. “You may need more frequent breaks when the heat is high, and enjoy some shade if you can.”

During period of high temperatures, health professionals say young children and the elderly face the greatest risks of heat exhaustion or heat stroke.

“The young and elderly can’t regulate their body temperature as well as healthy adults, so it’s especially important for them to stay well-hydrated,” Steve Krasl of Toronto EMS told CTV Toronto.

With reports from CTV Kitchener, CTV Montreal, CTV Atlantic and CTV Toronto