How to Increase Your Comfort Levels in the Summer

Just because it’s summer doesn’t mean you have to be uncomfortably hot all season long. In fact, you can keep yourself and your house cool and be kind to nature at the same time.

Four Seasons Air Specialists, your top HVAC company in Vadnais Heights MN, offers helpful tips on how to effortlessly beat the summer heat.

Improve your home’s insulation.

Insulation is undoubtedly important in the winter. In the same way, you also need to ensure your home is properly insulated in the summer to keep your home cooler. If you have certain areas where warm air can seep into your home from the outside, be sure to seal them off in order to save on utility bills. When necessary, add more insulation to increase your comfort levels.

Use shade.

Making yourself more comfortable in the summer requires more than just insulation. To effectively block the heat, shade windows and walls using external coverings such as blinds, canopies, or large potted plants. Plant transitory trees that cast shade over your home in the summer, but still let the sun shine through in winter. For better shading, invest in window tinting and improve your ceiling and attic insulation, which will help keep your home warm in the winter as well.

Make use of ceiling fans.

Did you know that staying comfortable when it’s hot outside depends more on how the air feels on your skin rather than the actual temperature? That’s why using a ceiling fan in conjunction with your air conditioner is a great idea.  A ceiling fan can make a room feel up to 10 degrees cooler and uses just 10 percent of the energy consumption of a central air conditioner.

This helps you save money by not having to set the thermostat as low to keep you cool. In addition, make sure you set your ceiling fan to work counterclockwise so that it will pull up the cooler air from the ground and circulate it throughout the room. Furthermore, don’t forget to turn the fan off when you leave the room, as a fan is not helping anyone if there’s nobody there to feel the breeze.

Make your roof reflect the sunshine.

A significant amount of heat in your home comes from the penetration of sunlight in your roof throughout the day. To prevent your home from being too hot, consider using reflective paint on your roof so that it can effectively reflect the sunlight back instead of absorbing it.

Open the windows at night.

If it’s not too hot at night, you can let the refreshing outdoor air in by opening your windows and strategically positioning fans. This can create a relaxing cross breeze, eliminating the need to run your air conditioner. Be sure to close the windows and shut the blinds before the sun comes up and your homes start to heat up again.

Do some chores at night instead of in the day.

Since it’s relatively cooler at night, you can choose to do a few household activities like vacuuming and drying during this time. Not only do these chores use a lot of energy, but these devices also make your home a lot warmer. Your dryer releases heat, which is then circulated throughout your home. Laundry and similar activities also require running hot water, using too much energy. In addition, your body temperature is much less likely to overheat if you’re doing these things at night.

Wear comfortable, breathable clothes.

By choosing clothes that are appropriate for the season, you can stay comfortable and don’t have to crank up your thermostat. Wear natural, breathable cotton, which effectively wicks sweat away from the body. Avoid wearing synthetic fabrics, which usually prevent airflow and absorb heat close to the skin, making you uncomfortable.

Similarly, use cotton bed sheets for the summer. Cotton and other natural fibers are light, breathable, and are the least heat-absorbent materials you can get for bed sheets. In addition to the material of bed sheets, you also should consider the color. A lightweight cotton sheet in a light color is a great way to feel comfortable.

Schedule a professional AC maintenance.

The single most effective way to ensure you stay comfortable at home this summer is to have a professional come and fine-tune your HVAC system. This will allow your air conditioner to run as smoothly as possible while making sure you have clean indoor air.

For more information, call Four Seasons Air Specialists, your trusted Woodbury heating and air conditioning company.