No need to suffer in the summer heat any longer!
How do you stay cool during summer?
The ultimate goal is to feel cool and comfortable inside your home during the summer, but you just can’t escape the brutal summertime temperatures. Closing your blinds and curtains or planting trees around your home can prevent unwanted heat from coming through your windows and will provide shade, keeping the surrounding air cooler, but sometimes you need supplemental cooling methods to really beat the heat!
There are 5 ways to stay cool this summer that are energy efficient and cost effective!
1. Dehumidifiers
Dehumidifiers run quietly and efficiently while taking moisture (a.k.a humidity) out of the air, making the air more comfortable to be in.
A dehumidifier lowers energy costs and helps your traditional air conditioner to run more smoothly. When the air is humid, your air conditioner has to work twice as hard to remove the moisture from the air and cool the air.
Using a dehumidifier lowers energy costs because you don't have to use the A/C as much as you typically would.
2. Window Air Conditioners
Why cool your entire home when you can just cool the room(s) you're using?
Window A/Cs are extremely affordable compared to traditional air conditioning units. They have a great energy efficiency ratio which is based off of how much they cool compared to how much energy they use to run. Window A/C units are easy to install and come with all parts and step-by-step directions at purchase.
Window A/C units don't take up valuable floor space or interfere with activities in the room. They are also great for renters because they're not difficult to move.
3. Evaporative Coolers (Swamp Coolers)
Evaporative coolers, also known as swamp coolers, use a natural process to cool the air. A fan draws the warm, stale air in, passes it over water-moistened pads to be cooled, then the cool air is pushed back out and circulated through the room. This method doesn't use refrigerants that put off chemicals and pollutants making it very environmentally friendly.
Swamp coolers are not the best method of choice to cool in warm-humid areas like the southeastern states. These areas have too much moisture in the air, rendering this method ineffective. The key to swamp coolers is the dry, hot air like in areas around the southwestern/western states.
4. Ductless Air Conditioners
Ductless Air Conditioners are also known as mini-split air conditioners. This method contains an outdoor unit condenser that cools the air, an indoor unit that releases the air in the home, and a conduit that connects the two units including a power cable, tubes of refrigerant and a condensate drain.
These units work like traditional air conditioners without any ducts. Ductless cooling units are designed for easy installation and like a window A/C unit, they are used to cool individual rooms or "zones". That means no more cooling rooms you aren't using!
Having no ducts avoids energy loss, saving you on your overall energy bill.
5. Fans
Fans may not cool the air, but they keep air moving which in turn makes you feel cooler. You sweat to lose heat. The air blowing over your skin from the fan causes your skin to evaporate sweat much faster, allowing the heat to escape making you feel cooler.
There are box fans, ceiling fans, window fans, and even personal fans! Running the ceiling fan counterclockwise and positioning fans by the window at night help suck the hot air out and make the room feel cooler.
There are so many benefits of using supplemental cooling methods in addition to your traditional air conditioner. With these 5 ways to stay cool this summer, you’ll be saving money, extending the life of your traditional A/C unit, and cooling concentrated rooms, instead of the whole house, in no time!
These cooling methods are energy efficient and won’t break the bank! No more sticky, uncomfortable summer sweat. Enjoy summer more knowing you can come home to a refreshingly cool home with no outrageous electric bill!
