Summer AC Tips: Keeping Your Home Cool During the Hot Months

Summer AC Tips: Keeping Your Home Cool During the Hot Months

Despite how warm summers get, it’s hard for Northerners to acclimate to heat and humidity when it hits. Too often, we go from winter, to a quick burst of spring, and head straight into summer’s heat and humidity. Keeping your home cool when it’s hot outside is everything, but you want to make sure you’re doing it as efficiently as possible. 

We’ve all been dealing with rising costs with the Fed raising the prime rate continuously, and the trickle-down effect it’s causing. Groceries are higher. Insurances are increasing due to disastrous weather events around the nation. Do yourself a favor and use these tips to keep your home cool without having your bills skyrocket as much as they could.

Keep the Sun Out on Hot Days

When you have larger windows and patio doors where the sun shines in during the hottest hours of the day, the solar energy heats up those rooms. That makes your AC system, if you have one, work harder. When a system works harder, it costs you more in terms of energy bills. 

Install thermal curtains and keep the sun out. Honeycomb (cellular) blinds are another option. When the sun is past that window, you can open them back up for the natural lighting. There are even smart blinds you can get that will raise and lower blinds at specific times or by voice command.

Use Shade Trees and Awnings to Block the Sun

If you have the land, a tree that shades the areas of your home that get the most exposure when the sun is highest in the sky helps with cooling the home. You can also use awnings or a roof over the deck to do the same thing. 

Cook Outside When Possible

Move cooking processes outside the house if you can. Cooking meals in your kitchen heats up your home. The oven and stove top can raise indoor temperatures by as much as 5ºF. When it’s hot outside and not raining, you could set up a slow cooker on a deck, patio, or breezeway. Make meals you can cook on a grill. If your grill has a side burner, use that on hot days.

You can also skip hot meals and make salads and sandwiches instead. A rotisserie chicken at the store makes a quick and easy chicken salad for several days of sandwiches. When it’s cooler, cook chicken breasts and store the cooked chicken in the freezer to ensure it’s always available for meals on hot days.

Run Fans

Use fans to help circulate the cold air coming from your supplies. Ceiling fans do a great job and help move air around. It’s worth installing them if you can. If not, floor fans are a good option, and some include air purifying functions that help clean the air while circulating it. 

Your central AC system also has fan settings. Keep the fans in “Auto” mode and reduce operating costs and wear and tear on your system. The fans will only run when your AC system is cooling your home.

Invest in Smart Thermostats

Smart thermostats do wonders at keeping your home cool while also avoiding high energy bills. A smart thermostat analyzes your patterns and habits and adjusts the thermostat accordingly. It will set the temperature higher when you’re at work and lower it before you return home. It can set it lower in bedrooms when you sleep and warmer in zones that are not used at night and vice versa.

Keep Your System Cleaned and Maintained

Make sure you have your system cleaned and inspected yearly. You should be changing your air filters every three months or sooner, depending on how many pets and people are in your home. You should hire a professional to clean your coils, test your system, and make sure there are no issues. 

It’s also important to have your duct supplies and returns cleaned and inspected every five years or so to ensure you don’t have mold or mildew growing in the walls or that rodents haven’t gotten into the system. A mouse can squeeze through a space as small as a dime, so they can get into vents. If they start leaving droppings and urine, it’s smelly and a health issue.

Is Your System Older?

Most AC systems are meant to last about 15 years. It’s why you’ll see 10-year warranties on components. A well-maintained unit may last for 20 years if you’re lucky, but at some point, they’re costing more to run and repair than is worthwhile. 

Newer AC systems have technology designed to improve their performance and create problem-free operation. Some systems have built-in tools to allow HVAC technicians to look at the system’s error codes and see if it’s something that could be fixed remotely. 

They have apps that you can access from anywhere and make sure your system is working correctly. You can adjust the temperature from your office, car, etc. 

Don’t Have a System? It’s a Great Time to Invest

If you are using window AC systems or even fans to stay cool, it’s a great time to look into a central AC system or ductless split systems. Government tax incentives help pay part of the cost. You might find your electricity provider also has rebates and incentives.

Programs like Goodleap help homeowners make energy-efficient upgrades with flexible payment options.  Nicor Gas customers may also qualify for energy-efficiency loans and on-bill financing. 

The other benefit to adding a new system is that the energy-efficiency of newer AC systems is better than ever before. They’re cooling homes with less energy, which keeps costs down and helps reduce impact on the environment.

Don’t try this as a DIY project. People who don’t understand the process for sizing an HVAC system correctly often end up with a system that’s too big or small for their home’s needs. You might think that a more powerful system will cool faster and therefore save money, but it’s going to run for a short time, turn off, and then need to run again. The continuous start and stop cycles wear out components faster. 

A system that’s too small will run continuously and never shut off. It damages components over time and never has the chance to properly cool your rooms enough because there’s just too much space to cool.

Use HVAC Experts Who Charge by the Job

We have one more suggestion. When you call around to find someone to service or replace your central AC system, ask if they charge hourly rates or by the job. When you find a company like Air Blue that charges by the job, you know how much you’re spending upfront. You’re not learning after the fact that it was harder than expected, so your bill is almost double the estimate.

Air Blue offers free quotes, online scheduling, and chat support. If you’d rather call and talk to a person, you’re welcome to do so. We also have several specials available, including discounted AC tune ups or a low monthly price on a new HVAC system. Whether you need your ducts cleaned or repaired or want your system replaced, we’ll give you a free quote and help you understand your options.