With summer getting closer by the day, it behoves every responsible homeowner to start prepping for the oncoming heat. Just as keeping a residence nice and warm throughout the frosty winter months can prove challenging, so too can keeping it comfortably cool throughout the arid summer months. Without even realizing it, many of us allow cool air to escape our homes through a number of routes, ultimately increasing the burden on our AC and our bank accounts. Fortunately, preventing cool air from making a break for it isn’t nearly as daunting as some households may expect. To help seal in cool air and keep your summertime cooling costs manageable, but the following pointers to good use when summer rolls around.
Upgrading Your Windows
Homes can lose quite a bit of cool air through their windows. This is particularly true in the case of single-paned windows, which offer little resistance against escaped air. If this describes the window situation in your household, consider making the jump to multi-paned windows. Also known as “energy-efficient windows,” these windows contain multiple panes, making it difficult for inside air to escape and outside air to enter.
Some homeowners are resistant to energy-efficient windows because of their comparatively high cost. While it’s true that multi-paned windows have higher price tags than single-paned windows, the long-term savings they’ll facilitate should prove well worth the upfront cost.
Repairing Roofing Damage
In many respects, your roof represents your home’s foremost line of defence against escaped air. However, if your roof incurs damage or holes are able to form, you’re liable to lose a fair amount of cool air throughout the summer months. People who live in areas that are prone to extreme weather would be wise to keep a watchful eye on their roofing. For example, a lot of damage can occur during the winter, when your roof is in constant contact with snow, ice and other forms of moisture. As such, a good roof rake, which can help you effortlessly remove snow from your roofing, is likely to prove a worthwhile investment.
To stay on top of roof damage, have your roofing thoroughly inspected at least once a year. A seasoned professional will be able to diagnose and repair a variety of issues in a timely and cost-effective manner. As is the case with other home maintenance tasks, the sooner you address roofing problems, the less costly they’re liable to be. If left alone long enough, seemingly inconsequential roofing issues can cause major damage to your home and adversely impact the value of your property.
Insulating Your Attic
In addition to keeping your roof in prime condition, you’ll need to ensure that your attic is securely insulated. In the absence of sufficient insulation, cool air can easily escape through the attic, so if your current insulation has proven inefficient at sealing in the air, it may be time for an upgrade. If you have little to no experience installing insulation, farming this job out to an experienced pro can keep you safe and save you a tremendous amount of stress.
Sealing Doors and Windows
Cool air can also make its escape through small cracks in doors and windows. You can nip this problem in the bud by taking measures to seal these cracks, thus cutting off various escape routes. Fortunately, when it comes to sealing, there’s no shortage of ways to go about this task – and sealing stickers, weather stripping and foam tape are just a few of the readily available tools at your disposal.
Installing Dependable Ceiling Fans
Dependable ceiling fans can be a boon to your summertime cooling efforts. Not only can they help your central AC circulate cool air throughout the entire residence, but they can also produce cool breezes of their own. By setting the blades to spin counterclockwise, you’ll enable your ceiling fans to blow air downward and create a refreshing cooling effect. So, if a consistently cool home is what you’re after, look into purchasing some high-quality rustic ceiling fans.
There are too many good things about summertime to list. Gorgeous weather, outdoor recreation and cookouts – just to name a few! However, despite all these perks, the summer season has one major disadvantage: out of control cooling costs. Given how much many of us spend to keep our homes cool throughout the balmy summer months, it behoves budget-conscious homeowners to take a stand against escaped air.
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