https://theclimatetech.com/The most reliable way to keep your home cool is with your air conditioner, but that can also be expensive. If you’re looking to reduce AC usage and still survive the summer heat, you can use the following tricks to help keep your home cool during the summer.
- Night airflow: At night, you can easily take advantage of the cooler temperatures. Open the windows and leave interior doors ajar to allow for maximum cool airflow.
- Close blinds: Sunlight shining through the windows accounts for nearly a third of the heat in your home. By closing the blinds, particularly on south- and west-facing windows, you can reduce your indoor temperature by about twenty degrees.
- Use fans: Fans in the windows, ceiling, bathroom, and kitchen can all help remove hot air from your home. For example, turning on the bathroom fan will take the hot, steamy atmosphere left after a shower and pump it outside, making the inside temperature a little more bearable.
- Set ceiling fans counterclockwise: Ceiling fans have seasonal settings. When set counterclockwise, they disperse hot air away rather than simply stirring it around. To test it, stand under the fan. If you feel a cold breeze, it’s working the way it needs to for the summer.
- Switch light bulbs: Incandescent light bulbs produce more heat than newer CFLs. In fact, about 90% of the energy put into an incandescent bulb is converted into heat rather than light, making energy-efficient bulbs much better for home cooling. Also, when you’re not using a room, turning out the lights entirely will further drop the temperature.
- Cook outdoors: Obviously, ovens and stovetops heat up your home, so grilling outside can go a long way toward keeping your home cool. Using no-bake recipes can also help if the weather outside is less accommodating.
- Plant a tree: Shade trees by the window can filter out sunlight, allowing you to keep the blinds open during the day without too much of a rise in temperature (all while providing a pleasant view). The drawback is it might take a while for a tree to grow large enough to give you enough shade, so this option is best for those who plan to stay in one place for awhile.
Supplementing AC usage with these tricks can save on electricity and help prolong the life of your air conditioning system. To learn more about saving energy and keeping cool this summer, contact Climate Tech Air Conditioning and Heating today.
