Summer is one season where saving money can go right out the window, literally. In between beach vacations and backyard barbeques, staying cool is a must. Unfortunately, keeping your home cool and your utility bill low can be challenging.
Depending on where you live, it’s not uncommon for the mercury to soar as early as April, and by July the heat is still raging. Thankfully, there are ways to stay cool and save money too.
Take Advantage of Trees
If you have trees properly positioned in your yard or live where it is shady part of the day, you can use this to your advantage. The more they shade the house the less heat will be absorbed.
If your yard is bare, use this to your advantage and plant trees and shrubbery that help filter out the sun during the hottest part of the day (often in the late afternoon). This means planting trees on the west side of your house if possible. In addition to providing shade, trees actually cool the air by a process known as ‘transpiration cooling‘. As trees release water into the atmosphere from their leaves via transpiration, the surrounding air is cooled as water goes from liquid to a vapor. So having more trees in your yard will actually make the yard cooler.
Using a Pergola
Placing a pergola near your home can create more shade as well. If placed properly it can shade a wall that would normally get a lot of extra heat from the sun.
Use Curtains
You can also use window treatments to keep your home cool. Curtains are the go-to method for keeping the sun out of the house and decreasing AC usage. Types of curtains that can keep your home cool involve blackout curtains, lined curtains, and reflective curtains. You can also use interior “Plantation” shutters as a way to block or redirect the sunlight. The key is closing them just before the hottest part of the day to keep things cool. In the morning or early afternoon, just before the temperature starts to rise, you can open your windows and use the natural breeze to cool the house. Then, before it starts to warm up, you can then close the windows and the curtains, keeping the cool air inside.
Utilize Your Fans
Although running your AC for long periods of time is an effective method to cool your home, it can drastically increase your electric bill. You can keep the cool air circulating by using ceiling fans. Once your home is cool, make sure you keep your ceiling fans running. This will keep cool air circulating throughout your home. By creating a breeze inside your home it will feel several degrees cooler thus you can set your A/C warmer (and use less electricity) and still feel just as cool.
One trick is to use your fan in reverse mode. You can reverse it by setting your ceiling fans to spin counter-clockwise. Doing so forces the heat to rise while letting the cool air circulate and keep your AC from cycling more frequently. During the winter, you’ll want to turn the fans back again to keep the warm air closer to the ground.
Another trick is to use window fans if you have a multi-story house you can open windows in the lower levels and put window fans in the upper windows blowing the hot air out. This will draw cooler air in from near the ground and create a breeze inside the house. (Of course, while you are doing this you should be sure your A/C is OFF).
Attic Fans are a great way to keep your attic cooler which in turn keeps the heat from migrating into your house through the ceiling. Attic fans are usually on a thermostat so they come on when the attic reaches a certain temperature (usually well over 100°) and then the fan comes on and sucks the heat out of the attic.
Keep Your AC Maintained
Another way to save money when cooling your home is with regular HVAC maintenance. This includes changing the air filter regularly and scheduling seasonal air conditioning services. Doing so can catch any small issues that may be causing your HVAC work harder than it should. Routine maintenance can also extend the life of your AC as well.
With summer temperatures flaring, it’s time to focus on keeping your house comfortable without spending too much. Make sure your AC is ready for whatever this summer may bring.
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