Keep Your Home Cooler With These Hot Summer Tips

Summer is in full swing, and it's hot out there. This is nothing new if you've been in warm climates for any time, but if you're new, you might wonder how to keep your home cooler without cranking the temperature down too low. There are many ways to create energy efficiencies that are better for you and the environment, and here are the best tips and tricks for keeping your house as cool as possible.

Add Carpet and Insulate Your Attic

Solid surface floors look great but are terrible at insulating a home. Carpeting is a great way to insulate your home, not just from the weather but also from sound and moisture. It's easy to put carpet in any area of your home where you walk most often or spend a lot of time. If you have children who love watching TV or playing video games in their rooms or a living room, then putting carpet down in those spaces, in particular, will help keep the room cooler and even quieter. The carpeting in your home will help you keep it cool in the summer because it reduces the amount of heat transferred from the floor to your body.

If you have an attic above your living room or bedroom, it's crucial to insulate it. Investing in insulation installation is not only a great way to improve your air conditioner's efficiency but also great for home values. When the heat rises through the ceiling of the rooms in your home, that heat has nowhere else to go except back into the attic space and then down again through other parts of your home.

This can make for uncomfortable temperatures during the summer months if left unchecked or lead to running your AC more aggressively. Insulating these areas with spray foam insulation can significantly reduce this effect by keeping more heat out of these spaces longer than normal — especially when combined with other methods like adding shutters over windows or installing awnings outside doors leading into them.

Use Insulated Curtains or Blinds

Insulated curtains or blinds help keep heat out of your home in the summertime. If you have any windows that face the sun, having some insulated curtains or blinds will help block the sunlight from coming into your home, thus reducing the amount of heat inside.

Insulated curtains and blinds are also great for blocking light at night if you want to sleep better. Studies have shown that sleeping in a dark room that doesn't get any natural light bleeding in from outside sources like streetlights or passing cars' headlights is better for your overall health and sleep quality.

Install Awnings Over the South and West-Facing Windows

Awnings are another great way to keep the sun out of your house. You can purchase them or make them with one of many DIY projects. There are multiple ways to install them as well. Awnings are easy to install, affordable, and can reduce the amount of solar heat entering your home. This helps to alleviate the load on your air conditioner, which will keep the rooms on the south and west sides of your home from heating up too quickly during the hottest parts of the day.

Check Your Air Conditioning System

This seems obvious, but ensuring the thermostat is set to cool is essential. When you're gone all day for work, it's easy to forget what setting your AC unit is on, and you want it set to cool and not off or just fan.

Next, clean the air filter for the air conditioning unit. A clogged or dirty filter will prevent your AC unit from operating efficiently and thus cause more strain on the system itself. It may take some time away from doing other things around the house, but this simple step can help keep things running smoothly and keep your home cooler, all while keeping energy costs down in the long run.

Make sure there are no objects blocking airflow through vents or registers in rooms where they need cooling most—like beds, couches, and dressers. Be mindful of where furniture is placed because these items could block or restrict airflow, causing uncomfortable temperatures inside those spaces.

Keep Your Air Vents Clean

You've probably noticed that it can be challenging to keep your home cool when the weather gets hot. Taking the time to clean your air vents can make a much more significant difference than you realize. For starters, it improves airflow, which is essential to get that cool air around the room. Secondly, it reduces allergens, making a living in your home more comfortable.

While it's easy enough to hire a professional team to clean your air vents and HVAC system, there are some things that you can do yourself. One thing you can do is vacuum them. You can also use a shop vac instead of a vacuum to get better suction, but it also works better for larger vents than a regular vacuum. While some vents will be easy to access, you can also use a hose attachment if they are more challenging.

Use a Programmable Thermostat

Another way to get more efficiency out of your air conditioning and the cool air inside is to use a programmable thermostat. You can automatically set your thermostat to cool down during the hottest parts of the day and set it to a warmer temperature during the cool of the night. You can also program it to maintain slightly warmer temps while you're away from home and be cooler when you walk in the door.

Keeping your house cooler not only makes it more comfortable but adding upgrades that insulate your home better can even improve the value of your home. New homebuyers love to hear that their utility bills will be lower and their home will stay at more consistent temperatures throughout the day. Making upgrades like adding more attic insulation, putting awnings on some windows and doors, and even using heavy curtains can improve your home's temperature.