10 Unusual Tips for Keeping Cool During The Summer

Posted by Grayce on March 31st, 2021

We went through a record-setting heat wave recently in the United States. Here in Atlanta, we set an all-time record of 106 F. Residence with properly-sized a/c unit are sized for a temperature of 92 ° F and most likely didn't remain so cool. I make certain rather a couple of houses with a/c that seem considerably large didn't remain cool enough either.

Every summer season you can discover lots and great deals of pointers on how to conserve energy and keep cool in the house: Use cooler clothes, utilize your ceiling fans, keep the sun out, go to a motion picture, get your a/c serviced, caulk your windows, etc. I will point out a few typical pointers in this post, however I'm likewise going to talk about some that you might never ever have seen in a short article like this before.

Before we enter into the actual pointers, though, it may be handy to keep in mind how the entire cooling thing works. Earlier this year, I heard a fantastic expression on the radio: Your air conditioner is the faucet; the structure envelope of your home is the cup. If you have a leaking cup, your air conditioning unit has to work harder. If your Air Conditioning is already doing all it can, you may need to have a look at your structure envelope. Likewise, to go back to the metaphor, a leakage in your water pipeline may make it difficult to fill the cup, even it's not leaking much.

Here are 3 questions to ask as you try to keep one's cool with an air conditioning system that has a hard time on those truly hot days:

- What can I do to minimize the amount of heat getting in?

- What can I do to make my ac system more efficient?

- What else can I do to keep one's cool?

Let's dive into the pointers now. I'm focusing here on existing homes. Whether it's a brand name new home you simply moved into or a hundred years old, the house is currently there, so some design alternatives are off the table.

Tips for keeping heat out

1. Keep the sun out. Windows can be the biggest factors to your heat gain. When the sun shines directly into the house, it normally brings a great deal of heat, too, unless you have really excellent windows (with low solar heat gain coefficients). Solar screens on the outside of the window are fantastic for keeping heat out. You might likewise think about some momentary shading for the east- and west-facing windows on those super hot days.

2. Seal the weird air leakages. The majority of the basic energy-saving guidance tells you to caulk your windows and weatherstrip your doors. The issue with that is you're ignoring some of the much larger leaks, like, state, crawl area vents that open into conditioned space or a hole in the kitchen area ceiling that functions as a fridge vent. Browse in your attic, crawl space, or basement, and you'll discover the worst culprits.

3. Decrease the surface temperatures. Some parts of your home may be hotter than others. For example, you might have a bonus space that's seldom comfy. Attic kneewalls with ineffective insulation are often the perpetrator there. Get the insulation in the cavities and put sheathing on the attic side of the kneewalls.

Tips for helping your air conditioning unit

4. Change your filter. Most people let them get too unclean, and this is one of the most common factors for bad performance in air conditioners. An unclean filter includes resistance and decreases air flow. Go on and inspect it now. I'll wait till you get back.

5. Improve air circulation. In addition to the air filter, your A/C might have other kinds of air circulation problems. If the evaporator coil is dirty, inadequate air relocations across it and your home doesn't cool off in addition to it should. If the condenser coil is filthy, it will not dispose adequate heat to the outside. If your condenser coil is crowded with greenery or other obstacles, clear it out. You can cut the bushes yourself, but you should probably call a professional to clean the coils.

6. Search for disconnected ducts. If your ducts are outside of the conditioned area in your house, check to see if anything has actually come loose. Repairing a supply duct that's sending out all its cool air to the attic or crawl space (as revealed listed below) can have an instant impact on your comfort. This problem is more common than you might believe.

Other tips for keeping one's cool

7. Usage fans. OK, I know this one's not unusual, however if your air conditioner is doing all it can however your home still isn't quite cool enough on those actually hot days, moving the air over your skin may be simply what you require to stay comfy. Keep in mind, though, that fans do not cool the air; they cool you. Switch off ones that remain in empty spaces due to the fact that they're using energy and including more heat to your house. Required to purchase a new ceiling fan? They now include energy performance labels showing how energy efficient they are.

8. Use a window a/c unit. If you have actually done everything above and your home is still annoyingly hot, installing a window unit Air Conditioning could provide you just enough extra cooling to assist you make it through the heat wave. I know. I know. They're unsightly and noisy and may protest the rules where you live. They utilize more power, which adds to the pressure on the electricity grid, and may contribute more to worldwide warming. Still, if you have actually got an energy efficient house with a right-sized air conditioning system, this could be the very best method to deal with those heat waves when temperatures work out above what your central air conditioning conditioner was developed for. It's a better option than setting up an extra-large system so you have sufficient capability to manage the severe heat occasions. A more expensive and long-term option to the window air conditioners edmonton alberta unit would be a ductless mini-split heatpump.

9. Get a house energy evaluation. Trained home energy auditors can discover the issues I noted above and more and advise services. They likewise have devices to measure how leaking your ducts are, for instance, as well as the surface area temperatures of your floors, walls, and ceilings.

10. Shut off your power attic ventilators. If you have power attic ventilators in the attic, have them disconnected so they don't run. They might well be robbing cool air from your house.

If your a/c unit repair business recommends changing your unit with a larger one to deal with heat waves, beware. Ac system do not dehumidify well if they do not have long run times, and bear in mind that heat waves do not last permanently and we don't have bad ones every year. If your AC can't maintain when it's hotter than normal outside, use the advice above to make it through. Your house will be more comfy and efficient for it even when the temperature levels go back to regular.