While air conditioning can be a great asset to any home, sometimes you just don’t have the money to invest in it. Keeping your family comfortable during the hot summer months is still a necessary responsibility for any homeowner. Fortunately, there are many strategies that you can implement to keep your home cool and comfortable this summer season.
Keep Direct Sunlight Out of Your Home
One of the biggest causes of excessive indoor heat in the summertime is direct sunlight. If you’ve ever sat in the direct sun for any length of time, you know just how warm it can be. To help keep your home cool during the summer, it is best to keep the direct sunlight out. You can use blackout curtains and blinds to restrict the sunlight from entering your home during daylight hours.
Keep Windows Closed on Humid Days
While you may be tempted to open your windows during overly humid days to provide a breeze inside of your home, that would be a big mistake. When you open the window, you are letting in that humid air. Trapped humid air can make your home feel much warmer than it actually is. Since there is excess moisture in the air, it is much harder for the sweat on our bodies to evaporate. This leads to that dreaded clammy and sticky feel. Always opt for keeping your windows closed during those humid days to keep the humidity outside.
Use Ceiling Fans to Your Advantage
You should install ceiling fans regardless of whether you have air conditioning or not. When you do not have air conditioning, ceiling fans can provide a much-needed breeze over your body. This breeze can make your body feel much colder than it actually is inside of your home. Just be sure to set the fan blades to turn in a counterclockwise direction. This will direct the air downward and across your body.
Invest in Dehumidifiers
As you have already learned, humidity can make it feel much hotter in a room than it actually is. To help offset the humidity inside of your home, you should utilize dehumidifiers. Place at least one dehumidifier in the highly trafficked rooms of your home, like your bedrooms, kitchen, and living room. By removing humidity from the air, you can make it feel much cooler than it actually is.
Open Your Windows at Night
As the sun goes down, the temperature outdoors naturally cools off. This is a great time to open those windows and let in the cold air. The cold air will help your body to cool down and make it much easier to go to sleep. Just be sure to close those windows the next morning as you do not want to let in the overly humid air when the sun is out.
Be Mindful of When You Use Appliances
There are various appliances throughout your home that can create excess heat. Your stove and oven are two of the most common. It is highly advisable to restrict using these appliances until the evening hours. If possible, consider grilling outside so that the excess heat from cooking is emitted outdoors instead of inside your home. If you do need to use your oven or stove, wait to do so until after it gets dark outside. This way, you can open your windows to disperse the excess heat.
Always Use Your Exhaust Fans
All homes are equipped with exhaust fans that help to drive excess moisture out of your home. This prevents premature rotting of building material and the unwanted growth of mold or mildew. When you are cooking, you should always have the exhaust fan on to divert steam out of your home.
When anyone is bathing, it is vital to turn on the exhaust fan in your bathroom to suck up the steam from the shower. If you do not run these exhaust fans, it will allow excess moisture into the air. When excess moisture enters the air, the high humidity it creates can make you feel like it is much warmer than it actually is.
Use LED Light Bulbs
If you are still using those old incandescent light bulbs, it is time to switch. After just a few minutes of running these bulbs, you can feel the heat that they emit. Do yourself a favor and replace those heat-producing incandescent bulbs with LED light bulbs. LEDs produce much less heat, so they won’t add to the temperature inside of your home.
Use Natural Outdoor Shading
Apart from using blinds to block the direct sunlight coming into your home, it is a good idea to invest in some natural outdoor shade. Some tall bushes or trees can naturally shade the sun from windows that it would typically penetrate. This can be a great way to keep direct sunlight from entering your home while still being able to see out of your windows. You may also want to consider an awning or canopy as that can be an immediate fix for the direct sunlight issue.
Utilize Your Basement
Your basement will stay at a comfortable temperature year-round. You can easily use this to your advantage when trying to keep your family cool this upcoming summer season. Take some time to organize your basement and even consider finishing parts of it. Simply having a living room that your family can enjoy spending time together in can create a big difference in their overall comfort level throughout the hot summer months.
Use Breezy Sheets
As the hot summer weather makes its entrance, it is time to switch up those sheets. You will want to ditch the warm flannel or wool sheets that you used to stay warm. Replace them with cotton sheets that can allow your body to stay cool. In addition, consider wearing lightweight cotton clothing while at home to give your body a nice breezy and cool feeling.
Consider Using Box Fans
On summer days where the humidity level is not too high, you may want to consider installing some box fans in your windows. When doing so, you will want to install them so that the fan is pushing hot air out of your home. Resist the urge to install the box fans so that they are blowing air inside of your home. This simply will bring the hot air and humidity inside of your home and make it feel much hotter. In the evening hours after the sun goes down, you can flip your box fans around to blow the cool evening air indoors.
Top-Quality AC Services
Having an AC contractor that you can trust is a necessity for both your budget and your family’s comfort. AC by J provides top-quality AC service in the Scottsdale, AZ, area. We can handle all of your, heating and cooling, and plumbing needs. Our team can also help you improve your indoor air quality. To learn more about our services, simply give us a call today.
