Comparison website Finder undertook a survey which found that the average Australian household uses their air conditioner for an average six hours every day during the peak warmer months, and it’s costing us around $8.41 each day for the privilege.

A whopping 69 per cent of Aussies – or 6.8 million households – acknowledged a daily reliance on their air conditioner to get through the hottest days of the season.

Acknowledging that Australia is facing its hottest summer on record, Finder’s energy expert, Graham Cooke, has warned that heavy air-conditioner usage is damaging to both the environment and the consumer’s hip pocket.

There’s a number of things Australians can do to stay cool before resorting to the air conditioner, he offered.

“A fan is a much more cost-friendly option, and if it’s strategically placed to get a cross-flow it can be quite effective, too.”

Air conditioners “should only be switched on when it becomes unbearable without it”, he advised.

And with 600,000 households also admitting in the survey to keeping the air conditioner on even when they aren’t home, he commented that “if you’re not at home, you don’t need your aircon running”.

“Aussies need to stop overindulging and expecting to walk into an icy cool room as soon as they get home,” he said.

And when you are at home, “the perfect temperature setting for your aircon is 24-25 degrees, anything cooler than that is unnecessary”, Mr Cooke flagged in response to the survey’s finding that the typical household runs their air conditioner at 22 degrees.

“Every degree you increase the thermostat could shave 10 per cent off your bill,” the energy expert said.

“Don’t let the balmy nights get the better of you,” Mr Cooke said.

“Keep your aircon usage in check if you don’t want to end up with a hefty bill at the end of the summer,” he warned.