Best Way to Heat and Cool Your House
Summer is here. It's time to welcome longer days and warmer temperatures. With the oestrus rising, it's also fourth dimension to start thinking about ways to continue your house absurd and set up for the long, hot days ahead. Follow these tips on how to stay cool in extreme heat, both before summer hits and in the middle of a hot spell.
Before the Heat Hits
Don't await until hot weather to prepare your home. Making small changes effectually the house can have a big affect on your comfort level. Follow these tips on how to continue your firm cool before the estrus arrives at your doorstep.
1. Get an A/C tune-upwardly
Keeping your A/C in tip-top shape is a year-round endeavor. Late spring is the platonic fourth dimension of the yr to accept an HVAC professional inspect your unit , so you're non waiting until a hot day to realize that your A/C is not keeping the house cool. A typical melody-upwards includes:
- Checking the thermostat
- Checking the filters
- Testing the temperature split
- Checking refrigerant levels and system pressures
- Performing an amp draw on the condenser/evaporator motor and compressor
- Cleaning/rinsing the condensing coils with water (dirty coils make your unit work harder to keep your home cool and comfortable)
- Checking the contactor and condensate lines
- Checking the evaporator roll
- Cleaning the electric connections
- Testing the capacitors and operations
- Testing rubber and limit switches
If yous become an A/C tune-upwards and the cool air feels like information technology is struggling to pass through the air vents in your home, you may need to become your ductwork looked at also. They could be clogged, broken, or leaking air, which will proceed your A/C unit of measurement from operating efficiently and drive up your utility bills. Plus, you won't be feeling the benefits of a overnice, cool home.
On a more than DIY level, keep your A/C unit going strong by installing clean filters and replacing them every calendar month. Outside, clear away any obstructions (like debris, plants, and shrubs) that could interfere with the functioning of your A/C unit of measurement's compressor.
two. Install a programmable thermostat
A programmable thermostat allows you to make small adjustments to your A/C unit of measurement's on–off cycles. You can tell your A/C to run less frequently (or at a warmer temperature) while the house is unoccupied or scale back during the libation evening hours, all without constantly niggling with the thermostat. As a bonus, you tin relieve money with your thermostat using even the most basic programmable model, which tin can reduce your free energy usage. Absurd temps and cheaper utility bills? That's a win–win in our volume.
three. Check the ceiling fans
Make certain the fan's blades turn counterclockwise. This creates a breeze and circulates cool air downward. This is an easy and cheap style to keep the firm cool in summer .
4. Check attic and garage insulation
Insulating materials work past slowing or inhibiting rut flow (conductive and convective) throughout your home. What does this hateful when you're figuring out how to keep your house cool? Warmer air will always seek out cooler air in order to accomplish a balance in temperature—the less insulation in your home, the more than vulnerable it is to extreme temperatures.
Depending on insulation type and the climate you lot live in, your attic insulation should be about x to 15 inches deep . Go along the heat out of your garage by insulating the garage door—a small step that can make a huge deviation.
5. Seal door and window gaps
An insect infestation tin can make even the mildest temperatures intolerable. If roaches, ants, or other bugs are constant visitors, information technology may hateful that your home isn't fully protected confronting the elements. Check your windows and doors and seal whatever gaps with caulking or new weather stripping . Keeping your house cool in farthermost heat is much easier when cool air can't escape through cracks or gaps in doors and windows.
vi. Consider window replacement
If your dwelling is exposed to full sun during the summer, consider replacing your existing windows with more than energy-efficient models. Though this is one of the more expensive ways to keep the business firm cool, the pay-off may be worth it.
Double-pane windows can actually trap heat (in an air space separating the window's interior and exterior glass) before it flows into your abode. Replacement windows that have a low-E (depression emissivity) rating are even more heat resistant. The glass of these windows is coated with a transparent, UV-blocking compound that can cut solar heat gain almost in half. New windows are too a sound investment to increase the value of your home should a motion exist in your future.
vii. Pressure launder the exterior
It'due south normal for your house to await dirty or grimy. The outside of your dwelling house can take a beating; with rain, wind, and sunday exposure, buildup of dirt and debris can happen quickly. This kind of buildup—such as leafage litter in your rain gutters—besides traps rut and moisture, raising the ambient temperature around your dwelling.
The best remedy is a thorough force per unit area washing. If yous are unsure about how much force per unit area your outdoor surfaces (brick, vinyl, wood, etc.) can withstand, hire a professional person cleaner. Only be sure to pay particular attention to the deck, patio, and other areas where you'll be spending time relaxing in the shade.
During a Heatwave
Has the heatwave already hit? You lot don't have to sweat out the summertime. Follow these tips on how to stay cool in farthermost rut.
1. What to do if the 2nd floor of your firm is as well hot
This outcome is normal because hot air rises. Withal, if you notice a meaning temperature difference betwixt the start and second floors of your home, and your A/C is running, chances are that your house doesn't have enough insulation or isn't sealed around the windows. Insulating and sealing are long-term solutions, only sometimes you lot need a quick fix. We get information technology!
If you lot have A/C, here are some ways to keep the firm absurd on all floors:
- Close a few vents downstairs and then that the air is directed upstairs.
- Adapt your thermostat and so that the fan setting is on constantly, which should broadcast the cool air.
- Shut the blinds or drapes, specially for second-floor windows, to block rut from the sun.
2. What to do if you don't accept A/C
Many homes and apartments don't come with air conditioning, especially in climates that stay balmy twelvemonth-round. But a hot day can sneak in every now and then. Hither are some ideas on how to go along the house absurd without A/C:
- Close the window blinds and close the drapes.
- Plough off any appliance that creates estrus (oven, clothes washer or dryer, even that tiny curling iron!). If you lot actually need to roast veggies or dry your towels, try to use the appliances at night, when the air (and hopefully your home) is cooler.
- Plow on the exhaust fan in your kitchen and bathroom to motion warm air upwardly and out.
- Utilize those fans. Plough on ceiling fans or use standup, box fans when y'all're upstairs to circulate the air. If temps are milder at night, position a fan in front of an open window to draw in that absurd air. This is one of the best and cheapest ways to keep your house cool in the summertime.
- Open windows at dark and in the early morning to let the mild air in.
And don't overlook the ability of an ice pack. Employ it to your forehead or neck for instant cooling. ( Maintaining your refrigerator throughout the twelvemonth can assist ensure that on those baking hot days, yous'll however have plenty of cool refreshments on hand.)
3. What to practise if your A/C unit isn't coolng the house
During the hot months, our air conditioning units work extra hard to keep us cool. Sometimes issues might occur with your A/C not keeping the firm cool. Here are some quick fixes for mutual air conditioner problems .
We can't control the weather. But we can take care of our homes and make sure they're properly equipped to continue their cool, no matter how heated the circumstances. American Abode Shield is hither to help, not just with the best ways to continue your firm cool merely also by keeping you protected with a home warranty twelvemonth-round.
AHS assumes no responsibility, and specifically disclaims all liability, for your use of any and all information contained herein.
Source: https://www.ahs.com/home-matters/quick-tips/how-to-keep-your-house-cool-in-extreme-heat/
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