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High heat means busy days for air conditioning repair workers.

Crews at Bruening Heating and Air Conditioning have been answering calls for repairs constantly since this heat wave began.

Owner Bruce Bruening attributes the flood of calls he's gotten to the sudden increase in temperatures.

He says due to the cool spring, most folks hadn't tried out their air conditioning units until they absolutely needed them.

Bruening said, "Everybody turned it on the same day it seems like so we've been at about 150 percent busier than we usually are this time of year."

During our visit, Bruening gave us some helpful tips to keep your energy bills low.

One of the easiest ways to lower your utility bill is to pull your shades. That lets less light into your home which keeps it cooler.

Also try using ceiling fans and portable fans to increase circulation of air inside your house.

Wait to use heat producing appliances like ovens, stoves dishwashers and washers and dryers until its cooler in the evening.

Another energy saving tip- keep your air conditioning unit in a shady location. But make sure its able to breath so clear up the debris.

There's a common idea that if you turn up your air conditioning during the day you are saving energy. Does that really work?

Bruening said, "That doesn't work in my opinion because the air conditioner has to work harder during the hottest time of the day and a lot won't keep up and the humidity gets really high because the air conditioning isn't run enough. I would suggest leaving it at a constant temperature."

But what will save you money is if your home's constant temperature is a few degrees warmer.

If you *do* go out of town, be sure to turn your thermostat to a higher temperature so your air conditioning unit won't run hard when you are away.