Energy Efficient Methods For Beating the Heat

Air conditioning is expensive, both in terms of actual out of pocket energy costs, and the environmental impact that it has on the natural world around us. However many people forget that there was an age before the invention of this modern cooling wonder. In days gone by people actually had to use a little bit of strategy, cunning, and even common sense to decorate their homes in such a way that they remained comfortable. In an age where an energy crisis is always looming on the horizon, and environmental catastrophe seem more and more eminent, it may be time to revisit some of the more natural home cooling methods that our ancestors used.

The easiest way to keep your home cool is to simply limit the amount of sunlight that comes streaming in during the day. The sun is the most powerful heating agent on the planet, and when it’s angled right to pass right through a rooms windows, it can cause a space to warm up pretty quickly.

Luckily, this can be easily controlled using heavy curtains, or blinds, that are thick enough to block out the majority of the suns intensity. Depending on the temperature, and the nature of the day, you can control the amount of heat the sun lends to the space, thus giving you an energy efficient way to control the temperature in the room.

Another inexpensive and environmentally friendly way to keep things cool is with fans. The initial investment in purchasing a fan is far less than for an air conditioner, and just one of them can lower the temperature in a room by 7-10 degrees. Also, these devices are so energy efficient that even the oldest and most outdated fan, left running 12 hours a day every day for a month, would only end up costing about ten dollars in electricity.

Ceiling fans are the most efficient models, but if you don’t already have one in the space they can require an elaborate installation process. A good alternative are automatically swiveling floor fans, which will sweep back and forth circulating the air throughout the environment, and distributing cool air evenly throughout the space.

Another source of unwanted heat in the home is your electronics. Televisions, stereos, and computers all give off heat, and while it’s not a huge amount, it can add up over time. Light bulbs however are the worst culprits. They give off more than their share of heat, and what’s worse is that the light they shine tends to make a space feel warmer than it actually is.

A great way to create the illusion of coolness is to shut off bright, overhead lighting, and let an environment remain bathed in soft, ambient illumination. A quiet glow, with plenty of shadows, will make a room feel perceptibly cooler than it actually is. Lava lamps, novelty lighting, and onyx lamps are all great choices for this.

Another important factor in keeping your home cool in a cost effective and energy efficient manner is basic insulation. The better insulated your house is, the less heat will get in, and the less cool air will get out.

This is especially true of insulation in the attic, because the constant force of the sun beating down on the roof can cause that location to get quite hot. This heat can then translate down into the rest of your home, unless you have insulation in place to stop it in its tracks.

Keeping your home cool in the summer doesn’t have to just be about throwing money at the problem. It can also be an exercise in energy efficiency and strategic thinking. By using these tricks, you will be able to keep your monthly energy bill low, while also helping to preserve the planets natural resources.