Most people enjoy the summer. It’s a great time where we spend a lot of time outdoors and enjoying the pleasant weather. But sometimes, especially if you live in warmer climates, summer can mean oppressive heat. Throw in a bit of humidity and you can be drenched with sweat just from stepping outside.
Most people’s solutions to this problem is to crank up the air conditioning. The home itself can be as hot as the air outside. So, turning on the AC can really put a strain on the budget. Having the AC running during the summer months can triple your electricity bill. In order to combat that problem, let’s look at 5 ways to stay cool this summer without blasting the AC.
1) Keep Track of Your Windows
In the summer months, if you’re not running the AC, you might keep all your windows open. The air in the morning and evening are usually cooler than during the heat of the day. But the trick here is to block the sun’s solar heat from entering your home. That means that in the morning, close your east and south-facing windows and draw the blinds.
In the evening, close your west and north-facing windows and blinds. This trick will help block out the sun’s heat during the times it will most likely enter your home. Also, don’t forget that your home can hold onto a bit of that solar heat and release it when the air temperature starts to drop.
2) How is Your Attic Insulation?
Attic insulation isn’t just to keep the warm air in the house during the cold months. It also will help keep the cool air in place. So, in that way, having good insulation keeps the lower floors comfortable throughout the year. If your insulation is poor or isn’t think enough, the cooler air can escape, or even push the hot air from the attic down into the home.
3) Install a Ceiling Fan
If you don’t have a ceiling fan, they are great at keeping rooms a good 5-10 degrees cooler with one-tenth the power usage of an AC. If your fan doesn’t seem to be doing the trick, check to make sure it’s not on a ‘winter’ setting. A winter setting will blow air the opposite direction to blow the air up rather than down.
4) A Whole Home Fan
Consider the places in your home that are the warmest. They are where the warm air settles in and it can make parts of your home really hot and humid. A great way to cool off those areas is to install a standard ‘whole-house’ fan that works like central air. The fan will pull the warm air out and push it outside the home.
5) Keep the Oven Off
During the unbearably hot summer months, using the oven can make the problem worse. Nothing heats up the kitchen like having the oven roaring. During these days, use alternative cooking methods, like grilling outside, using a crock pot, or a microwave. This will even help save on the electricity bill.
It’s understandable that there will be some days so hot, you’ll have no choice but to turn on the AC. But if you do most of the things on this list, it should cover you on most of your warm days while saving a bit of money on your electricity bill.
