These Few Tips Can Help You Stay Cool And Energy-efficient
Air conditioning is the easy solution to the noon heat, but it’s not the only one. We’re all happy to flip a switch and let our system take care of the rest, but running your AC all day can eat up energy. To make the most of your air conditioning system, you can pair it with a few energy-saving techniques that also help keep you cool. From new light bulbs to cooking outdoors, there are several ways to help ensure your home stays cool and energy efficient.
Keep Sunlight Out
A deceptively simple task, ensuring that the day’s heat stays outdoors can be much more challenging than you realize. Keeping doors and windows shut may help keep cool air inside, but that’s only half of the battle. Windows, for example, can be closed, sealed, and still be letting heat into your home. How? Well, the light streaming through them is as hot as the sunlight outside. Curtains, drapes, and blinds are all great ways to stop the sun’s rays from entering your home. While this may, in turn, make your home darker, you can quickly remedy that by flipping a few light switches. Speaking of which…
Avoid Generating Heat
Now that you’re keeping extra heat from entering your home, you should turn your attention towards sources of heat inside your home.
Replace Your Incandescent Light Bulbs
An air conditioner can take existing heat in your home and remove it, but that doesn’t mean you need to add more fuel to the fire. When trying to stay cool, it is best to avoid activities that may further heat your home. These activities include keeping lights on. Old-school filament light bulbs not only burn through energy but also generate detectable levels of heat. That’s right! It’s not your imagination; a room lit with incandescent light bulbs is hotter. Instead, consider replacing existing and outdated bulbs with energy-efficient LED ones that don’t put out nearly as much heat.
Try Grilling!
It may go without saying, but turning on the stove or firing up the range can contribute to your home’s overall temperature. Fumes from gas stoves can even lower your home’s air quality! It’s best to avoid using your stove during hot days and instead stick to foods that can be eaten cold(yes, that includes ice cream!) If you absolutely must have freshly cooked food, stick to outdoor cooking. Grills, smokers, and fire pits are all great ways to keep all the extra heat from cooking outdoors.
A Cool Bath Goes A Long Way
It’s nearly impossible to completely stop using hot water, especially when you need to wash your hands. However, avoiding hot water during a shower not only helps you keep cool but also stops your home from becoming a hot, humid mess.
Make Sure Your Air Conditioner Is In Good Shape
We often forget about our air conditioners until it is too late. Have your AC regularly serviced instead of waiting until a system failure to call an HVAC specialist. Maintaining an AC unit in perfect condition leads to clean, energy-efficient airflow in your home. Professional service can also help you decide if a new HVAC system might provide you with better, more energy-efficient cooling.
Your Air Conditioner Is Not The Only Way To Keep Cool
Air conditioning is, no doubt, a miracle, but we can’t expect it to beat the heat single-handedly. We can all do our part to help our AC do its job and save energy while doing so. From window shades to calling Lion Home Service for professional maintenance, you have all of the tools you need at your disposal for energy conservation. All it takes to save energy while staying cool is a little foresight.
