During the hot summer months, you don’t have to rely on central air conditioning to keep your home cool. There are several simple things you can do to stay comfortable when the weather is hot. These tips are great for active adult homeowners without air conditioning or those who want to use their air conditioning less often to keep their utility bills low.
Cover Your Windows
Summer sunshine brightens your home, but it also lets in unwanted heat. Blocking these rays with blinds or shades is an easy way to keep indoor temperatures down. When buying new window treatments, look for products that are designed to block heat and improve energy efficiency.
Pick Up Some Portable Fans
Electric fans comes in sizes and styles designed to work in various areas of your home. Table top fans and pedestal fans can be easily moved wherever you need a cool breeze. They typically oscillate to reach a wider area as well. Box fans and windows fans can also be used to direct air throughout your home.
Adjust Your Ceiling Fans
If you have ceiling fans, adjust them to rotate counter-clockwise in the summer months. This will blow air down into the room to create a cooling breeze. Ceiling fans usually have a small switch or button that lets you choose between clockwise and counter-clockwise rotation depending on the season.
Cook Outdoors
Cooking with your stove or oven will quickly raise the temperature in your home, which is the last thing you want on a hot, summer day. Brush up on your grilling skills to keep your kitchen cool. Grills can be used to make many meals beyond hamburgers or hot dogs, especially with accessories like rotisserie racks, grill woks, pizza stones or vegetable baskets.
Use Your Exhaust Fans
When you do cook indoors in the summer, use your stove’s exhaust fan to help draw the hot air out of your home. Exhaust fans are also important in the bathroom where they help remove the warm, moist air after showers.
Turn Off Your Lights
Turning off the lights in your home can make it feel cooler, particularly if you use incandescent bulbs. Traditional incandescent bulbs produce much more heat than light, by some estimates converting at least 90 percent of their energy into heat. It also helps to switch to more energy efficient lighting, such as CFL or LED light bulbs.
Open Your Windows at Night
After the sun goes down, opening windows will clear out the warmer air that may have collected in your home throughout the day. Open windows on opposite sides of your home to create a cross breeze or position a fan in the window to draw the cooler air in. These simple tips will help you keep your home cool without air conditioning all summer long.
