Tired of feeling like your air conditioner is blasting, but your home still isn’t cool? The problem may not be with your air conditioner — it may have more to do with how you’re insulating your home and utilizing certain areas.
Trying to cool a home that isn’t properly insulated wastes energy and drives up the cost of your utility bill. Luckily, there are small steps you can take to improve insulation, as well as best practices to keep your house cool in the hot summer months. Here are our five best tips:
- Check your windows. Adding weather stripping to your windows can help prevent cold air from escaping which, in turn, makes your air conditioner more effective. Further, closing your blinds when it’s particularly sunny or using blackout curtains can help keep the interior of your home from heating up too much.
- Make sure your exterior doors are well-fitted. If your exterior doors have warped over time, they may be letting in outdoor air — which can be a problem during both the hot and cold months. Consider upgrading to a new door that will keep your home better protected from the elements.
- If you have ceiling fans, use them. But make sure you’re using them properly. In order to be most effective, ceiling fans should run counterclockwise (if you’re standing under and looking up). If you don’t have ceiling fans, consider installing in the bedrooms or higher traffic areas of your home.
- Keep interior doors open. Unlike the exterior of your home, which you want as shut off as possible, you want the interior to be as open as possible. This allows air to better circulate and keep a consistent temperature throughout.
- Turn off lights and avoid the oven. Turn off lights when they aren’t needed, especially strong overhead lights. While it might not seem like they make much of a difference, the heat put off from bulbs can impact the temperature of a room. Similarly, avoid using the oven on really hot days. Instead, try grilling outside or using an appliance like a crock pot to prepare dinner.
Do you think your doors might be part of the problem? We can help.
Shop for better insulated exteriors doors today.