Cooling down the house

With the temperatures hitting the triple digits, now’s the time to find clever ways to keep the house cool and save some dough. Here are a few tips from PG&E:

• Change out incandescent bulbs for fluorescents. Energy Star lighting puts out about 75 percent less heat.

• Save up to 20 percent of your home’s cool air by having the central-cooling ducts properly insulated.

• Cook on the stove or microwave, or grill outdoors, instead of using the oven.

• Clean dust and gunk from refrigerator coils, and set the temperature between 38 and 42 degrees (between 0 and 5 degrees for the freezer).