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FAIRFIELD, IOWA -- A Fairfield landlord claims he can save on your electric bill with a Wal-Mart bag and a three-dollar box of tin foil.

KTVO's Fact Finder investigated the claim.

Kurt Minges says putting tin foil in his tenants’ windows, as well as in his own home, is the most cost-effective/efficient way of staying cool.

“I do it to save money, and save energy and help the planet,” says Minges. "It costs me about three dollars a year and it keeps my house or apartments about 15 degrees cooler than it is outside. It reflects the heat out and it reflects the cool in.”

For the tenants who are worried about the appearance of tin foil, Minges suggests you consider the price you will pay. A former tenant once refused to let Minges put tin foil in her windows because she liked her view.

“I told her ‘But, you work all day, you’re not home. I tell you what, the next time you get a $200 electric bill, you think of that view.’ Then we finally [put the foil in her windows].”

Minges also has a suggestion for homeowners with window units.

“Don’t do this if you have central air, but I have a window unit in my bedroom and I was down in the basement, and it was really cold down there. I thought, all of that air conditioning had just fallen down through the vent into the furnace, so in the springtime, I take the vents out of the floor, throw them in a Wal-Mart or Hy-Vee bag, put them back down in the floor, and it stops the cold air and keeps it upstairs where it should be.”