5 Ideas for Keeping Your Home Cooler This Summer

When Summer rolls around, you want to be able to escape the heat when you’re inside your home. It can be pleasant to work up a sweat when you’re sitting on the beach, but not as much when you’re just sitting on your couch. If your home is typically too warm when the Summer season rolls around, you’re probably looking for some ways to cool things down. Here are 5 simple things you can try that may make a pretty big difference.

Add Some Curtains or Blinds

Sunlight plays a big role in determining how warm a room is. If direct sunlight is filling up your room for hours on end, it’s likely making the temperature rise. A simple fix is to add some curtains or blinds. Dark colors will block out more of the sun, but even light-colored ones can help to reduce the temperature in a room. It’s a matter of how much you want to drop the temperature vs how much light you want to come into the room. Once you have some blinds or curtains installed, be sure to keep them closed whenever the sun is shining directly into the room, even if you’re not going to be in the room at the time. 

Seal Door and Window Gaps

If there are any gaps around your windows or doors, this will allow any cool air you have in your home to escape. This also means that warm air outside can find its way in. When these two things happen, you’ll find the temperature in your home rising along with the cost of your energy bills. It’s a good idea to spend a few minutes going around your home, both inside and out, to check to make sure there are no gaps. If you have quality windows this likely isn’t the case, but it doesn’t hurt to check. 

Should you find any gaps, you’ll want to seal them up. This could mean using some caulk around the outside of the windows or maybe installing a door sweep under your front door. These are fairly simple home improvement tasks that you can likely handle yourself, but if you’re unsure of what to do, call in a local handyman to do it for you.

Change Your Ceiling Fan Direction

Many people are not aware of this, but most ceiling fans can actually spin in two directions. One direction is designed to push hot air down, to help keep your home warm during the Winter. The other direction pulls the hot air up, which can be used during the Summer. If you have a room with a ceiling fan, and you find it’s still warm despite running the fan, try changing the direction of the spin. You may find that flipping a simple switch makes a significant difference. 

Maintain Your Current AC System

Your air conditioning unit obviously plays a big role in cooling down your home. Ideally, you just need to set your desired temperature, and the AC unit does the rest. However, it’s important for all homeowners to perform regular maintenance on their AC units to keep them running optimally. AC maintenance includes cleaning out the inside and replacing the filter every few months. It’s easy to do these jobs on yourself, but if you want to make sure they get done right, you can call in a local AC maintenance team.

Upgrade Your Air Conditioning Unit

Finally, if performing maintenance on your current AC system doesn’t work, it may be time for an upgrade. Older AC systems simply don’t perform as well, and the result could be an uncomfortable home and higher energy bills. If your current system is over 10 years old, you should look into new home ac units. See what’s available and how much it might cost. It’s a good idea to start planning for this early so that you can purchase the right unit and start budgeting for it ahead of time. 

Don’t Suffer Inside a Warm Home

You don’t have to be uncomfortable inside your home all summer long. Some of the suggestions above may not fix your problem on their own but combined they can make a big difference. If each idea drops the temperature in your home by a degree or two, you’re looking at a much cooler home by the end of it. So, take some time to diagnose what’s causing your home to feel some warm, then see which of the solutions above might help. Once you implement these solutions, and you’re able to sit around comfortably inside your home, you’ll be glad you took the time. 

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