Here in New England, we need to consider the extreme four seasons when designing a home. This post will discuss how designing a cooler home for hot summer days will be more energy-efficient and save money. Let’s face it, summer in Connecticut is only a few months away. When summer comes around, temperatures can rise to immense highs. When the weather gets like this, even the most advanced air systems can fail without the proper treatment and care. You can keep your air conditioning system up and running through the summer with continuous maintenance and careful upgrades to help ensure that your A/C won’t quit when you need it most. But that leads to you spending massive amounts of money on not only keeping your system up to date but also on your electricity bill.
There are other strategies that you can take that will help you save energy and keep your cooler during these extremely warm months. Some of these tips listed below are free. You can utilize them every day to keep your home in cool conditions. Others on this list will cost money but will be inexpensive and simple so that you can save the most money during the spring and summer months.
Your windows can help gain air that’s cool and keep out heat.
In areas where the climate drops in temperature during the night, you can simply open your windows to let cold air in. If you own an air conditioner then you can simply turn it off at this time and enjoy the nice cool breeze while you sleep. When you’re awake, you can simply shut the windows and close the blinds to keep the cold air inside.
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You can utilize cold air through natural ventilation from this method. You can also install custom treatments such as blinds or lined curtains. This will prevent heat from filtering through your windows. There are also many other window coverings and treatments that can cool the temperature. Designing a home to be cooler and energy-efficient isn’t complicated.
Don’t Heat Your Home with Appliances and Lighting.
On days where it’s extremely hot and you opt out of using your home’s air conditioner then avoid using appliances like the oven. Use the stove, microwave oven, or grill to do your cooking.
For your other electronics and appliances, make sure you’re designing a home using heat reducing elements. For lamps, hanging lights, and ceiling fans with lights, you want to install light bulbs that run cooler. There are many brands that offer energy-saving, efficient lighting; you’ll want to look for products that are Energy Star and the like. A super simple way to cut back on heat created by light is to use daylight instead of artificial light.
Run your dishwasher with only full loads, take short showers instead of relaxing baths, and cut back on your general hot water use. Take steps to avoid heat buildup in your house.
Shut down air leaks in your home.
You want to seal any openings or cracks in your home that could lead to warm air leaking into the space. There are many ways that you can seal out air from entering into new and existing homes. A few of these methods include adding weather stripping or caulk which will seal any air leaks around windows and doors. Be sure to research what kind of caulk works best for your needs and which ways are the best ways to apply it. You should do the same things if you decide that weather-stripping is the best option for you. There are many other ways to improve your windows’ energy efficiency that you can research and apply easily.
Portable Air Conditioner.
Portable air conditioners are a great way of ensuring that you’re getting cool air to an area without having your home’s air conditioning system turned on. A portable air conditioner is a good choice because it’s energy efficient, affordable, allows for control of the temperature, and offers a quick solution that other methods of home cooling do not. It saves much more energy when compared to home air conditioning systems. Instead of cooling down the entire room, portable air conditioners can be used to cool one room at a time.
You save money when you buy a portable air conditioner thanks to the fact that it is only focused on one room. When you turn on your home system, every room in the house is cooled when it doesn’t need to be. Doing this wastes not only energy but money as it increases your electricity bill the more you use it. A portable air conditioner runs when and where you want it, allowing you to better control how much money you spend on your bill while staying cool.
These other temperature-reducing techniques allow you to cool down the room but not necessarily to your desired temperature. With a portable air conditioner, you set the temperature and the room is brought to that exact temperature.
Having a portable air conditioner can really help your crusade to stay cool but save money during the spring and summer months. The next step is finding the best portable air conditioner for your needs.
When you utilize these techniques, you are designing a cooler home throughout the hottest days of the spring and summer.
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