Dusti Fredricks brought her kids out to Crystal Lake Thursday afternoon for the first taste of summer weather before a looming heat wave.

“It’s a nice day and we wanted to get out here. It’s our first day at the beach, my kids were excited to come to the beach,” she said.

Temperatures will circle around 100 degrees this weekend, which means Minnesotans will be turning on the air conditioner—some for the first time this season. If that’s the case, an uptick in upcoming bills might come as a bit of a shock.

Annie Levenson-Falk, executive director of the consumer watchdog group the Citizens Utility Board of Minnesota, said she hears those complaints often.

“Even if it’s not a surprise, it’s high and they want to figure out how they can spend less without sacrificing comfort in their home,” she said.

But there are ways you can cut down on costs, she said, starting with keeping the temperature even a few degrees higher any chance you can get. That could save money over time.

Seventy-eight degrees is the magic number for consumers when they are home in the summer, according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s tip sheet.

The agency suggests upping the temperature to 85 degrees when you are not at home because dialing up seven to 10 degrees from normal for eight hours can save consumers up to 10% per year.

But avoid setting your thermostat at a colder setting than normal when you first turn on the air conditioning, the energy department says. It will not cool your home any faster and could mean higher bills.

To see the original story and read related reports, follow this link to the WCCO-TV website.  https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2021/06/03/minnesota-weather-tips-to-save-on-your-energy-bill-as-heat...