With summer just around the corner, it’s a great time to start thinking about how to keep your house cool, while holding down energy costs. Here are four ideas for cooling your home that not everyone knows about.
Use Window Film
When the sun’s hot summer rays shine through your windows, they can quickly cause the temperature inside to rise and your AC to work overtime. Window film designed to block out the sun’s rays not only enhances the look of your windows but helps your home to stay cooler and cuts down on energy costs. 3M™ Prestige Sun Control Window Film reduces the effects from the sun that come into your home, so your home doesn’t get as hot.
This multi-layer film uses nano-technology to block out 97% of infrared light and reject the solar heat coming through your windows. It also significantly blocks harmful UV rays that can damage your furnishings and belongings. And you don’t have to worry about being in the dark either. This film still lets plenty of natural light, usually between 40-70%, come into your home.
Change the Way You Cook
Cooking comfort food in a hot oven in the winter can warm up your home and make it feel cozy. However, in the summer, it can put push up the temperature, especially in your kitchen. This can put a strain on an AC unit that’s already working overtime. If you like cooking, try switching to foods that can be made on the stovetop and in small appliances like multi-cookers and toaster ovens. These don’t require as much energy or release as much heat into your home as your oven. Summer is also a great to time to switch to cooking outside on the grill. You can also switch to eating more foods like salads and cold dishes that don’t require cooking at all.
Swap Out Incandescent Bulbs
This may seem like a trivial thing to do, but incandescent bulbs release heat. They also use a lot more energy than LEDs or compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs). When you have a lot of lights on in your home, the amount of heat released, and energy being consumed can add up.
Switching out old bulbs with LEDs and CFLs throughout your home can make a significant difference in your utility bills. These bulbs are more expensive, but they last a lot longer and will pay for themselves in the long run. If you can’t switch out all your bulbs at once, replace a few at the time as they burn out. Look for sales so you have them on hand when you need them.
Change Your Roof Color
You may have noticed in tropical areas that many homes and roofs are white or some other light color. This is an intentional design feature to reflect the sun. Research on buildings in cities, which shows that white roofs can result in lower energy bills. So, painting your roof white can help your home stay cooler! It will cause the roof to reflect more of the sun’s hot rays rather than absorb them. Painting your roof might be a lot of work. However, it is something to consider if you’ll be replacing your roof or need to do roof repairs in the near future anyway.
PA Window Tint Inc. began serving central Pennsylvania in 1993 and has since extended service to New York, Maryland, and New Jersey. Today, PA Window Tint is a 3M Prestige dealer, which identifies our company as a member of the elite network of dealers in the country which are entrusted with offering 3M’s highest quality products and providing impeccable installations. Give us a call at 1-866-329-0064 or fill out a form online.