Home Upgrades to Help Battle the Summer Heat

Your home should be a comfortable and relaxing retreat that you can rejuvenate from long days at work. However, if you come home to an extremely hot house, you may find yourself more comfortable at your desk at work than in the privacy of your overheated home. While air conditioning is a helpful option, it’s also quite expensive and by the time people get home from work and turn it on, the evening has come and the isn’t as vital. If you’re looking to save home energy without using air conditioning, there are plenty you can do around the home to still keep it cool. Here are some home upgrades to help you battle the summer heat.

Windows
Windows will add sunlight to your home, but they also offer the opportunity to open airways throughout the entire house. When you have vinyl windows throughout your house, you can open them all up and, with the addition of the fans mentioned earlier, you will create a stream of breezy air that will feel nice wherever you are in your home.

While windows are often associated with allowing a cold breeze to enter a home, they also serve as insulators for a house. Double pane windows are an ideal solution to serve as a buffer and keep oppressive heat outside. Thin, single-pane windows allow warm air to enter the home and can for an air conditioner or fan to work even harder to cool down a room. This inefficiency is not only physically uncomfortable, but it can also hurt your wallet since energy consumption will rise. It’s also worth noting that the reverse effect is true in the winter – double pane windows help insulate your home and keep it warm.

Fans
Fans in your home are great for circulating air. While fans won’t generate cool air on their own, having them in your house with open windows will allow for air to circulate and keep your living spaces moderately cool. The effects won’t be as great as air conditioning, but fans will still help out a lot. Best part is that fans are relatively easy to install and many homes are prewired to include fans.

Whether you’re looking to move air around a room or your entire house, there are plenty of options to choose from. A whole house fan system can effectively cool down your home and serve in the place of an air conditioning unit. The system increases airflow throughout a house and works by drawing the air from your home and removing it through the attic. This allows cooler air to flow from outside and replace the warm, stale air.

Wall Colors
Light colors will keep your home cooler than dark colors that attract heat. Having light colors on couches, floors, and other accessories throughout your home will keep the air much lighter. While dark colors will attract and consume the heat, making for an overall hotter temperature. When winter ends, swap out flannel sheets, couch covers or other heavy and dark colored accessories for lighter material and lighter colored items.

Home upgrades can do a lot for your home. Not only do they make things more aesthetically more pleasing, but they can also help with the comfort level within a home. During scorching hot summers, the last thing anybody wants is to uncomfortable inside of a house. But with outrageous energy costs tied to running your air conditioning, it’s important to find alternative, and less expensive, methods of keeping cool. Consider the tips on this list to keep your house cool and battle the summer heat.