How can you keep your home cool as temperatures start to rise? Energy CEO offers his top tips

Temperatures are already rising across the US - and all signs point towards the summer of 2024 being the hottest on record. 

Over the Memorial Day weekend 11 cities in Florida broke their own heat records, while soaring temperatures fueled violent thunderstorms in Houston and Dallas.

And an extreme heat wave is heading for the US next month, the National Weather Service has warned, and is likely to hit Texas, Florida, Arizona, California and Nevada.

But there are steps that you can take to keep your home cool in the summer, according to supplier Octopus Energy.

And for Michael Lee, CEO of the Houston-based supplier, this also involves rethinking how we view energy efficiency and usage.

There are steps that you can take to keep your home cool in the summer, according to supplier Octopus Energy

Michael Lee, CEO of Octopus Energy US, recommends shutting your blinds and windows to keep out sunlight and keep your home cool

According to Octopus Energy, the first step is making sure cold air is kept inside the home and hot air is kept out.

'If it's drafty in the winter, then it's definitely drafty in the summer,' Lee told DailyMail.com. 

The easiest way to weather proof your home is to seal up any cracks, gaps or holes on exterior doors and windows.

Also be sure to check any doors leading to non-air conditioned spaces - such as an interior door leading to a garage.

Replace your AC filter once a month, and unplug any unused appliances as these are still able to suck energy through the power cord when you are not using them - pushing up your bill.

During the summer, the supplier recommends turning your ceiling fan blades counter clockwise.  

'Fan blades spinning in a counter clockwise direction will push air down and create a refreshing breeze throughout the room while maximizing energy efficiency,' it said.

Cook outside if you have a grill to avoid heating up your kitchen, it recommends, and invest in a cooling mattress topper if you can to keep your temperature down at night.

Materials known for moisture wicking and breathability are cotton, silk, tencel, and rayon made from bamboo.

Sunlight entering through windows can significantly heat up a room, Octopus said, so having dark-colored curtains helps block out light.

'Shut your blinds and your windows - especially the south and west-facing windows - because those are the ones where the sunlight comes in during the afternoon,' Lee added.

Alongside these tips, Lee also thinks it is crucial for customers and energy suppliers to think about timing and how they optimize their energy usage - not just how they reduce it. 

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'We need to rethink the products that are offered to customers, because I think a lot of energy companies and customers are a little asleep at the switch and thinking about the old way of saving money,' he said, 'which is just reducing your usage instead of intelligently thinking about your usage.'

Largely to avoid federal regulation, independently-minded Texas - where Octopus Energy is based - is the only state in the US with its own energy grid. 

The rest of the country is covered by two grids - one in the east and one in the west. 

The Texas grid is operated by nonprofit corporation Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which is overseen by the state's utility regulator and the Texas legislature. 

While supporters of the so-called 'energy island' say it is a lure to business, others argue it puts the state's 30 million residents at risk of blackouts when the grid is stressed at times of extreme demand.

For Lee, the unique environment in Texas is an opportunity to reconsider the role renewable energy can play - while also keeping costs down for customers. 

An extreme heat wave is heading towards the US next month, the National Weather Service has warned

Experts recommend turning your ceiling fan blades counter clockwise, and making sure you replace the filter in your AC

For example, the supplier introduced a 'Fan Club' program, which gives customers discount windows during the day when they can save on their energy unit rate.

A 20 percent discount is applied to any electricity which is used when wind energy makes up more than 30 percent of the grid's energy supply. 

'We have more wind than anywhere else in the US, and we have more solar energy production now than anywhere else in the grid,' he said.

'And it's not because of government mandates, it's just because we have such low cost renewable energy coming off these projects, we can build them really fast and cut through the red tape.'

Lee hopes that the rest of the country could look toward Texas as a model for the future, with a focus on using renewable energy at optimum times.

'If one of the biggest problems is how we keep bills low, then ultimately the best way to take cost out for customers is to use power when renewables are really abundant,' Lee told DailyMail.com.