Keep your home and utility bills cool with these chill cooling tips:
Plant around your home
A lot of the heat that builds up in your home in the summer comes from direct sunlight. An easy way to cut back on the amount of sun shining into your home is to plant trees, shrubs, and other greenery outside your home. Leafy trees block sunlight from streaming into your windows or heating your roof--which helps keep the overall external temperature of your home cooler.
Remember: when planting keep shrubs, plants, and debris clear of the outdoor unit (aim for at least 3 feet clearance on all sides). Just as plants can help block the sun, greenery can also inhibit air from flowing into or out of the condenser.
Close your windows and doors
After a long and slushy winter, we love to open our windows and air out the house. This is a great way to refresh the air in your home on breezy or cool days, but once the summer heat sets in, open windows are invitations for the warm, humid air outside. Putting a fan in your window to help cool off is actually doing more harm than good when you have the central air running.
Closing your blinds during the day can also help keep your home cooler as it blocks harsh sunlight and prevents it from baking your home.
Program your thermostat correctly
In 2020, many of us have programmable thermostats in our homes. The problem some homeowners discover is what happens when you program your thermostat incorrectly. To make sure you’re making the most of your smart or Wifi thermostat:
Pay attention to the times that your family is awake and home. Those are the times your thermostat should be set a little lower. If you have a programmable thermostat, set your wake up times so your AC knows when to kick on and start cooling your home for the day. The EPA recommended indoor temperature is 78° F during the summer. Keeping your home as close to this temperature as is comfortable can help you keep your cooling costs down now that many of us are spending more time at home.
If you are going to be gone for a while be sure to set the thermostat a bit higher (we recommend 80° F). Your cooling equipment is designed to keep your house approximately 20 degrees cooler than the outside temperature—by setting your thermostat as close to the outside temperature as possible, you will reduce your cooling costs and prevent your system from overworking when you aren’t home to enjoy the benefits.
A few other tips to keep your home cooler:
Keep your garage door shut during the day.
Open doors to outside as few times as possible.
Run interior fans in rooms you hang out in. The wind chill effect created by fans can make a room feel up to 8 degrees cooler than it actually is!
Cook outside on a regular basis. Grilling out will prevent your stove and oven from heating your home up more.
If you have a basement, use it! Because they are subterranean, basements are generally the coolest rooms in your home.
The HVAC pros at A-TEMP Heating, Cooling & Electrical can help you keep your home cool and your cooling costs low. Contact our team at (503) 694-3396 to schedule an appointment!