The highest of temperatures are hopefully past us in New York City, but summer is not over yet! Sometimes even small changes can have a huge impact on the effort it requires to stay cool. We rounded up eight ways to keep your cool until the end of the summer
Check Insulation
Lack of insulation and poor quality insulation both allow unwanted summer heat to seep indoors, particularly in upper areas of the home like the attic. Upgrading the insulation in your home can stabilize indoor temperature both in the summer and the winter. While you are checking your insulation, look for leaks along the exterior of your home which let valuable conditioned air escape year-round. Air leaks are especially common around doors, windows, electrical outlets, recessed lighting, wiring penetrations, and attic hatches.
Maintain the A/C Unit
Over time, air conditioning units can accumulate dust and dirt in key areas, causing build-up that can drain the efficiency of your unit by roughly 5 percent each year. Skipping maintenance regularly forces your air conditioner to work harder and also increases your risk of having to make a costly repair. Schedule preventative maintenance for your system and if it has been more than 3 months since you changed the filter, do that now! The dirtier your air filter, the harder the system has to work to keep your home cool.
Rearrange the Furniture
If you have furniture blocking your HVAC registers, your system will have to work harder to get your home to the desired temperature. To keep air flowing freely, take the time to move your furniture around to provide ample room around all your intake and outtake registers.
Turn on Ceiling Fans
A ceiling fan or other circular fan can make you feel six or seven degrees cooler via the wind-chill effect. It is important to know that unlike air-conditioning, a fan doesn’t actually make the air in a room or space cooler. Instead, the fan cools the occupants. So remember to turn all fans off when no one is enjoying them to reduce electricity use. During the summer, ceiling fans should rotate counterclockwise to push cool air down to the floor.
Close Window Treatments
Sunlight streaming in through the windows is beautiful to look at, but it brings added heat into the home. To keep your cool for the rest of the summer, close curtains, blinds, and shades on the sunny side of your house, especially during peak sunlight hours. Thermal lined shades are especially effective at reducing heat from sunlight.
Run Ventilation Fans
Use kitchen, bathroom, and even laundry room ventilation fans to remove heat and humidity from these areas. Make sure the fans are vented to the outside, not just the attic.
Change the Light Bulbs
Use energy-efficient light bulbs instead of incandescent bulbs. ENERGY STAR lighting produces 70 to 90 percent less heat than incandescent bulbs.
Install Energy Efficient Windows
Installing high efficiency windows will not only reduce your cooling costs, it is also one of the surest ways to increase your home’s resale value and build equity.
At Sentry Window Guards we make it our mission to help keep families safe in New York. For more information regarding our window guard products and our expertise in understanding NYC safety requirements, contact us today!
