If climbing temperatures are turning your house into an oven and causing the air conditioning bill to go through the roof, read on for 10 quick, affordable tips to beat the heat and save energy.
1. Close Blinds and Curtains
Mini blinds or curtains can reduce the sunlight and heat streaming in through your windows.
At my house, simply installing blinds on the south-facing windows completely changed the temperature in that part of the house.
Make sure blinds or curtains are white on the side facing the outdoors — white reflects the sun more than other colors.
Solar sun screens and window film are other options that can greatly reduce the heat coming through windows.
2. Install Cool Lighting
Incandescent light bulbs can significantly heat up a room. That’s just one reason why more and more homeowners have turned to alternatives.
Another reason is they’re not energy-efficient and alternatives, such as CFLs and LEDs, last much longer.
Replace standard bulbs with high-efficiency, low-heat LED (light-emitting diodes) bulbs, and turn off the lights when they’re not needed.
3. Cook Wisely
Eat cold meals, cook outside on the grill, or use the microwave for cooking, when possible, to minimize heat indoors.
Here’s how to beat the heat when you do cook indoors:
- Use pressure cookers and slow cookers
- Cover pots to minimize indoor humidity.
- Use a range hood or microwave vent fan to vent hot air outside.
- Check the oven by turning on the light and looking through the glass, rather than opening the oven door.
- Turn the oven off a few minutes before food is cooked to reduce oven heat.
4. Turn Off Electronics
Computers, TVs and other electronics generate quite a bit of heat when sitting idle or even when turned off, so unplug devices when they’re not in use.
Another easy way to beat the heat these electronics produce is to plug them into a surge protector that has an on/off switch, then turn the switch off when the devices are not in use.
5. Repair Windows and Doors
Windows and doors are a major source of heat gain in the house. Older single-pane windows and doors without proper weatherstripping are the worst culprits.
So keep windows closed and locked, and doors tightly closed to prevent cool air from escaping.
If you can’t replace your windows and doors with more energy-efficient models, repair any gaps or replace weatherstripping around windows and doors.
Also, don’t open windows at night unless the temperature drops to the mid-70s Fahrenheit or lower.
Calling fans wihich way turns in winter
Ceiling fans which way do they turn in summer?
Hi Jerry,
I updated the article above to indicate that ceiling fans should run counterclockwise in summer (when looking up at them). They should run clockwise in winter. You can find out more in our article on How to Use a Paddle Ceiling Fan Properly at https://todayshomeowner.com/using-ceiling-fans-properly/
HOW MUCH INSULATION SHOULD I HAVE IN MY ATTIC?
A ceiling fan, just as any other type, should move the air toward you in the summer.
Having foil radiant barriers in the attic is very useful in reducing the trapped heat inside the walls of the home. This ensures that the temperatures remain down and home remains cooler, naturally. Low on electricity consumption also. High on savings too.
I recall the 3 C’s for summertime fan direction….Counter Clockwise Cooler!
Tami,
Thanks, that’s an easy way to remember it!
Can you tell me more about using window film on dual pane windows? We are suffering a terrible drought and heat here in Forks, Washington. Because it is normally cool here, we don’t have air conditioning. Thank you!
rooms that are not being used should they be closed?
A lot of heat energy is delivered to your house in the form of rays from the sun. If you have blinds that will block the light from entering the house and reflecting a bunch of it back outside, less heat energy is dumped inside. And things stay cooler.
Obviously the color of your blinds will also play a role, dark colored blinds will absorb a portion of the energy and act as radiators in your house. White blinds will reflect most of the energy back out again.
Fans really help alot during the morning. We don’t turn the A/C on during the morning cuz it really works twice as hard to keep the house or room cool. Having fans and opening windows really help the circulation of air in the whole household.
HOLA MR DANNY, WE BOUGHT A HOME LAST YEAR, AND HAVE BEING DOING REPAIRS, REMODELING ETC,ETC.
I WANT TO ENHANCE OUR FRONT PORCH. WE HAVE PLASTIC SHUTTERS, THEY ARE FADED FROM THE SUN. MY ? IS CAN WE PAINT THEM OR NEED TO REPLACE THEM? WE ARE TRYING TO SPEND AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE, SO WE CAN DO MORE THINGS TO THE HOUSE.
SECOND ? WE HAVE THE “FAMOUS” FRONT PILLARS ON THE FRONT PORCH. THEY ARE PEELING, WE WANT TO PAINT THEM SO EVERYTHING WILL LOOK NICE. WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO START WORKING ON THEM. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. BY THE WAY I JUST LOVE YOUR SHOWS, THEY ARE VERY INSTRUCTIVE AND INTERESTING 🙂
Hi Julie,
All the ideas you’ve shared are very helpful to keep the house cool.
I would like to add one more, we can use solar reflective paint additive for the same.
Just add a solar reflective paint additive in to the paint and apply it on exterior walls to reflect the solar waves.
The biggest single improvement I made was replacing an old solid wood door with and insulated steel door. Very noticeable temp change and it’s better security as well.
Secondly, I replace the air filters on the first of each month and pour a little bit of bleach down the drain pipe while I’m in there.
Thanks for sharing your experience with the Today’s Homeowner community!
TH community members helping other TH community members — we love it. 🙂