The summer months are the time of high temperatures and even higher power bills. It’s
easy to find yourself cranking up the AC to keep things cool, but constantly turning down the AC can lead to eye
popping power bills and a level of electricity use that’s far from environmentally friendly. So how exactly does
one keep their home comfortable without having to rely on expensive AC? The solution lies in thinking with
ingenuity, knowing your home inside and out, and following these tips for simple, AC-free cooling.
Fanning the Flames of Summer
Ceiling fans, box fans, and even the most modest of USB powered fans are worth their
weight in gold when it comes to cooling down a space. Give your outside AC unit a break while you focus on
running fans inside your home instead. The amount of electricity used to power fans is far less than that of
traditional air conditioning, and decreased temperatures caused by fan use will ensure that the AC won’t have to
automatically kick in. Just be sure that you are using your ceiling fans efficiently: incorrect fan usage will
do little more than circulate warm air around the room. Ceiling fans need to be run in the counterclockwise
direction in order to properly cool the air. Take the time to ensure that all of the ceiling fans in your home
are spinning correctly and you’ll be all set for a cool house and a low power bill.
Swamp It
You can also invest in a swamp cooler and a swamp
cooler cover. Swamp coolers use between 15-35% less electricity than your standard air conditioner while
keeping your house cooler than just a fan. Swamp coolers use the method of recirculating warm air, running it
through a water cooling system that then blows out cool air. There are no chemicals involved, you use less
electricity, and the amount of water needed is relatively small.
Window Warmth
Windows are the visual highlight of any home. They not only bring the joy of sunlight
into your home, but provide you with a connection to the beauty found in the outdoors like your handcrafted
backyard garden. But did you know that windows are also one of the main culprits of indoor overheating?
Pulling back the curtains and raising the blinds lets in significant amounts of heat from the outdoors,
especially in the height of summer. You can easily reduce the amount of heat entering your home by keeping
blinds and curtains drawn when not using a room and investing in skylight
covers for your ceiling light sources. When leaving home for a grocery run or a walk around the
neighborhood, go through each room in the house and ensure that every window and your skylights have been
properly covered so that no sunlight is sneaking in. Your house will feel cooler before you know it, and with
minimal effort on your end.
The Great (Grilling) Outdoors
Every home chef knows that cooking up a storm in the kitchen heats things up-
literally. Kitchen appliances, especially gas stoves, produce ample amounts of heat that’s great for frying and
filleting but less than ideal for keeping your home at a comfortable temperature. An overheated kitchen means
your AC system will have to work overtime to regulate the temperature inside your home.The simplest solution is
also the one that’s most enjoyable: grilling. By taking your prime cuts to the backyard grill, you can cut out
one of the main sources of indoor overheating and whip up a delicious meal for your family in one fell swoop. So
pull off your grill cover and get cooking! Your electricity bill will thank you for it.
Finding Shade
While laying out in the summer sun may sound like the perfect afternoon, those rays
can mean an overheated house before you know it. If the majority of the windows in your home happen to face East
or West, direct sunlight is a daily occurrence that turns up the heat in the blink of an eye. A simple solution
to this problem is establishing external sources of shade. Install pergolas, canopies, and similar types of sun
protection to block direct rays from hitting your home’s windows. Blackout curtains are an investment that can
be used indoors as an accompaniment to outside shade providers. This combination of indoor/outdoor shade
solutions will keep you and your home cool as a cucumber without costly cooling.
Insulation & All
Wearing a coat in the winter keeps you warm for a reason. It keeps your body heat from
dissipating. This same principle applies to insulating your home. Properly insulated homes keeps warm air
trapped within the home during the winter months. However, the same home insulation also prevents cool air from
escaping when summer rolls around. Insulation can be found at any major hardware store and any homeowner with a
handyman side to them can install it in their home without issue. And once the temperature drops in the fall,
you will be grateful you have this money saving and environmentally efficient measure already in place!
Recent Comments