9 Ways To Stay Cool This Summer Without Spending Too Much
Whoever says you can’t stay cool in the summer without spending too much hasn’t tried these 9 cool ways to feel comfortable while cooling your body and protecting your house from the heat.
To help avoid the high cost of turning on your air conditioning unit, here are a few environment-friendly tips you can do with your fans, windows, and even a bowl of ice.
Cook Outside, Not Oven Indoors
Since oven heat can spread throughout the house, you can opt to use a slow cooker to keep the heat centralized in one area. Or better yet, cook outdoors on a grill to keep the heat outside.
Install Energy-efficient Light Bulbs
Incandescent bulbs produce a higher temperature than do the LED bulbs. They waste an estimated 90% of their energy in the heat they emit. Wait for deals on energy-efficient bulbs or compact fluorescent lamps to make the switch, and then slowly replace the bulbs in your home. Switching light bulbs can save money but they won’t eliminate a lot of heat at home. But if you focus on changing the bulbs in places you sit near, it will make a more visible difference. They can cool your home and reduce your energy bills.
Keep Your Blinds Closed And Your Windows Open
Windows will let in about 25% of the summer heat. During the sunniest hours, block the heat with shades or blinds to keep your home cool, without air conditioning. Close the curtains or blinds over your windows to keep the sun from coming into the house directly and heating up the inside.
You may also make the most of those cool summer evenings and open your windows at night to stimulate a cross-breeze that will help you to sleep better. The cooler air will circulate during the night enabling you to start fresh in the morning with a cool house.
Wet Your Curtains
This trick has long been around, but people rarely try it at home. Sometimes opening all the windows simply doesn’t cut it, in which case wet your curtains with cold water. Spraying or soaking your curtains or leaving the bottoms to sit in buckets of water is a great way to cool down the temperature in your home.
Run Ceiling Fans Counterclockwise To Push Hot Air Down
The blades on your ceiling fan are rotated slightly to move air up or down. You’ll want the blades to turn counterclockwise in the summer, which will move the air straight downwards. Raise the speed of the fan on hot days. You can do this easily; just find the switch on the fan’s body which will change the direction.
Hack Your Fan With A Bowl Of Ice
You can create a fake ocean breeze with a bowl of ice and a fan. Simply toss a bunch of ice cubes into a metal bowl, or freeze some water straight into the bowl, and place it in front of a running fan. Tilt your fan or bowl in such a way that air flows directly onto the frozen surface, cooling the blowing air.
Use Your Exhaust Fans
Turn the exhaust fan switch on in your kitchen to suck up hot air after you cook, or in your bathroom to take out steam after you shower.
The exhaust fans in the shower and in the kitchen drag the hot air coming up and drive it out of your house.
Close The Doors To Unused Rooms
If you really have to use your air conditioner, restrict the coolness to where you spend most of your day and night. Shut doors to areas needing no cooling.
If nobody uses a room, shut it off to hold the cool air in the home’s only occupied areas.
Use Your A/C At Off-Peak Hours
If you can’t help but turn on the air conditioning when the temperature rises above 30 C, try to do so overnight, as opposed to running the air conditioning all day. The price per kilowatt hour is nearly 10 cents cheaper during the 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. off-peak hours than in daytime peak hours of 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Isn’t it exciting to know that you can stay cool even without having to spend too much? While you enjoy the hot summer days, you also save money with these cool tricks we have shared. Want to know more? Call Shaul’s at 778-397-4850 or schedule an appointment with us through our website.
