SBelle: small a/cs don't use that much electric and they are a lifesaver in hot weather, even if you only use them in one bedroom for example. After I was divorced and on a strict budget over 30 years ago we lived in a small house with a large a/c that used a lot of electricity and a small window unit in my bedroom. I moved the little TV in that bedroom so I could watch it on weekends...got my chores done early in the morning, would go get books from the library and hole up in the small bedroom after I made lunch...the rest of the house was hot but that bedroom was very comfortable. Also if you have windows that the sun shines on in the hottest part of the day you can buy those emergency camping "blankets" like they sell at Walmart, they are made of reflective Mylar and cut them to fit your windows and use Scotch tape to tape them to the windows at the corners. That will cut down on a lot of heat getting into your home. If you stretch it tight enough you can also look out the window during the daytime and watch your yard without anyone knowing you are watching it, looks like aluminum foil from the outside.
