When the heatwaves start heading in, we all want to have a cool place to retreat indoors. Of course, we’d rather not drive up our energy bills to keep things comfortable! A little common sense can help you manage your cooling costs this summer. Use these tricks to get the most out of your AC unit—especially during triple-digit days outside.
1. Adjust Your Ceiling Fans
One way to better regulate your indoor temperature is to change how your ceiling fan blades rotate throughout the year. In the winter, we want warm air to circulate. Adjusting your fan so it pulls air up encourages cooler air to mix with the heat that rises to your ceilings, making your room feel warmer. On most ceiling fan models, this happens when the blades run clockwise.
For the summertime, though, it’s better to have air moving down and away from the fan. The angle of your blades impact which direction they should spin this time of year, but typically it’s counterclockwise. This will add a cool breeze in your room—which is a nice bonus to how your AC is already working.
To test this, all you have to do is stand beneath the ceiling fan. If you feel cool air blowing down on you, then you’ll know you’re set! Otherwise, just flip the little switch on the base of your fan. This will tell the blades to move in the opposite direction. Run your fan on high during hot days, and you’ll really put them to good use!
2. Turn On the exhaust fans
The next thing to watch for in summer is how you manage the hot air in your kitchen and bathroom. Warm showers and hot cooktops add extra heat to your home. Being able to push that air outside can help keep things cooler.
The primary function of your exhaust fan in the bathroom is to reduce your risk of growing mold and mildew in the bathroom. You can turn it on to minimize that muggy, humid feeling. This is important when you’re creating steam in the shower, but it also benefits your home’s AC. You can turn on your exhaust fan whenever the air in the room is feeling thick.
This works for your kitchen too. Use your exhaust fan to pull heat away and out of the room. You don’t have to run these fans for long to make a difference. And when the weather is smoldering outside, every little bit counts.
3. Watch Your Open Doors
Another way to reduce the heat in your home is to keep that cool air in its place—inside! Going in and out of the house for chores in the backyard just gives that cold air more chances to escape. Then your AC has to work harder to make up the difference. The same can be said about your garage door. We see a lot of people leave it up when they’re at home. Again, that just creates opportunities for the hot summer weather to impact your temperature indoors. Keep that garage door down so it becomes another barrier against the heat.
Of course, if you have dramatic temperature swings throughout your home, it might be time to consider other solutions. Looking into zoning for your home can be a great way to direct how your AC and furnace work throughout the year. You divide rooms or levels into distinct zones. This gives each area its own thermostat. Then you can really have control over the temperature in your home.
Hopefully you’ve already gotten your AC unit serviced for the hot weeks ahead, but if not, you can always give our team a call at (317) 203-8165. We’d be happy to come out and get your home (or business!) squared away. After that, just follow these easy tips to keep cool this season. Your air conditioner will thank you!
