This year, with our air conditioner running, our house still felt hot. I could not understand it because growing up, we did not have air conditioning and I don’t remember dying from the heat. Ester and I were talking about it and she said she remembers her family having a whole house fan in the attic.
I started to research the subject and reach back into my memory to my childhood for strategies to keep our house cool without the air conditioner. Some of the following tips will make your house more comfortable and save you some dough on your energy bills.
I am not saying not to use your air conditioner anymore but to save it’s use for those dangerously hot days.
Tips for Keeping Cool in the Summer Heat
1. Open Windows on the Shade Side of Your House during the day – The shady side of your house is the north side. The air on the shady side is typically a few degrees cooler than the sunny side. This morning, I measured the temperature on the shady side as 74 degrees and the sunny side was 85 degrees. To create a draft, you can use one window fan on the sunny side and blow the air out of the house therefore, pulling the cool air through your house.
2. After Dark, open every window in the house for an hour – If you use the other strategies to pull air into your home, you can drop the temperature almost five degrees in a half hour.
3. Install Ceiling Fans in Bedrooms and other high usage areas – Typical central air conditioners use about 3500 watts of energy compare to 60 watts of energy for a ceiling fans. Ceiling fans create air movement that makes the room temperature feel more comfortable.
4. Install an Attic Fan – We had an attic fan install. Our second floor was always hotter than the first floor. Apparently, I found out that the heat starts to creep down and stratify in layers from the top of your house to the bottom. An attic fan draws hot air out of your attic (the hottest point in your house) - The cooler your attic, the cooler the rest of your house. Heat pumps use this same process to separate hot air from cool air. We found that our whole house remains a few degrees cooler just from the attic fan.
5. Use Window Fans in Bedrooms – Placing a window fan in your bedroom window and running it an hour before going to sleep and after dark will draw cool air from outside and drop the room temperature by a few degrees.
Using these simple strategies, we found that our house is more comfortable than it was by running the air conditioning. At the same time, you’re helping the environment and saving on energy costs too.
Do you have tips to add? Please leave everyone a comment.
I started to research the subject and reach back into my memory to my childhood for strategies to keep our house cool without the air conditioner. Some of the following tips will make your house more comfortable and save you some dough on your energy bills.
I am not saying not to use your air conditioner anymore but to save it’s use for those dangerously hot days.
Tips for Keeping Cool in the Summer Heat1. Open Windows on the Shade Side of Your House during the day – The shady side of your house is the north side. The air on the shady side is typically a few degrees cooler than the sunny side. This morning, I measured the temperature on the shady side as 74 degrees and the sunny side was 85 degrees. To create a draft, you can use one window fan on the sunny side and blow the air out of the house therefore, pulling the cool air through your house.
2. After Dark, open every window in the house for an hour – If you use the other strategies to pull air into your home, you can drop the temperature almost five degrees in a half hour.
3. Install Ceiling Fans in Bedrooms and other high usage areas – Typical central air conditioners use about 3500 watts of energy compare to 60 watts of energy for a ceiling fans. Ceiling fans create air movement that makes the room temperature feel more comfortable.
4. Install an Attic Fan – We had an attic fan install. Our second floor was always hotter than the first floor. Apparently, I found out that the heat starts to creep down and stratify in layers from the top of your house to the bottom. An attic fan draws hot air out of your attic (the hottest point in your house) - The cooler your attic, the cooler the rest of your house. Heat pumps use this same process to separate hot air from cool air. We found that our whole house remains a few degrees cooler just from the attic fan.
5. Use Window Fans in Bedrooms – Placing a window fan in your bedroom window and running it an hour before going to sleep and after dark will draw cool air from outside and drop the room temperature by a few degrees.
Using these simple strategies, we found that our house is more comfortable than it was by running the air conditioning. At the same time, you’re helping the environment and saving on energy costs too.
Do you have tips to add? Please leave everyone a comment.
Sensei Tim Rosanelli
Maximum Impact Karate
(215) 249-3532
www.maximpactkarate.com
timrosanelli.blogspot.com
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