What's the Best Way to Heat and Cool House
This time of yr all many of us can think about is keeping absurd. Simply escaping the searing rut that blankets entire swathes of the land comes at a cost. In my 130 twelvemonth old Victorian, summer utility bills are stratospheric. Just where does a person turn for aid making decisions most cooling off when it seems like everyone has something to sell? Roofs, windows, air-conditioning systems, insulation — companies making and selling these products all have their claims about cooling and free energy savings. And how do yous separate fact from myth when it comes to adages most keeping a abode cool and keeping a lid on the utility bill?
Fortunately a couple of experts weighed in for NBC BETTER with some tips for how y'all can keep cool and deport on this summer. Lauren Urbanek is a senior programme advocate, Center for Energy Efficiency Standards, Climate & Clean Energy Programme at the Natural Resources Defense Quango. And Robert Daguillard is a spokesperson for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. They helped united states of america break downwardly some cooling essentials.
Start with your windows
It sounds bones, Urbanek said, but "if sun comes in through your windows it's going to brand your house warm. Using things similar window coverings to their full advantage in the middle of the day [tin] keep your house cooler by keeping that sunlight from coming in, particularly if yous are gone during solar day, and in rooms that confront west or southward."
Anybody else's grandma practice that back before air workout was ubiquitous? She knew what was what.
And so what's best for window covering? Looking for a product similar a thermal drapery that'due south designed for that purpose is generally a pretty safe bet, Urbanek said. "The thought is to keep the light and heat from coming through." That could fifty-fifty mean having a thicker curtain vs. something sheer. Of course there are also thermal shades (we use those on south and w facing windows and they make a dramatic difference), actual blackout curtains, even interior shutters.
Yep, y'all might be giving upwards light and a view, but isn't it prissy to exist cool?
Hot air is likely coming in from everywhere
If you were to add together up all the footling cracks and places in your house where warm air gets in, the boilerplate house would accept a hole the size of a basketball game, Urbanek said. "If you had a basketball sized hole in your wall you'd take care of information technology right away." What people often don't know, she said, is how many places you can have hot air coming in: think effectually windows, door frames, and clamber spaces, fifty-fifty around recessed lights.
If you lot were to add up all the petty cracks and places in your house where warm air gets in, the average firm would have a hole the size of a basketball.
A nifty resource for finding all those piffling culprits, she said, is your local utility visitor. Many can provide a habitation energy audit and some fifty-fifty offering rebates if you take their advice. "You get a professional to do some diagnostic testing and they will give you a list, generally with data near what makes the almost sense to invest in," she said. (Don't wait; I chosen mine weeks ago and the soonest they could come is mid-Baronial.)
Insulation is key year-round
All those beautiful photos y'all can find on Pinterest of glorious exposed rafters still, insulation is a must, Urbankek said. She lives in a century-old house herself, and although "information technology's non something fun to spend money on — fifty-fifty equally somebody who knew this was the right thing," adding insulation to the walls and attic was one of her showtime priorities. "It's non as fun equally new countertop but it will salve you money and make yous more comfortable in your house."
How exactly does insulation work? "The manner thermodynamics work is heat flows from a hotter place to a cooler place," Urbanek explained. "Not having insulation ways estrus is seeping into your business firm and your air conditioner is having to work a lot harder."
Or, to utilise the words of the insulation contractor who came to our house to have thermal images, "rut is screaming in through your ceiling."
When and how to run your air conditioner
It's an age erstwhile debate: is information technology better to leave your air running all twenty-four hours so the house stays cool and it doesn't have to work so hard to get back downwardly to a comfy temperature? Or should you set your thermostat a few degrees higher when you're non dwelling?
It's all about equilibrium, Urbanek said. "Heat is going to flow from a hotter environment to a cooler one. So in this example the rut volition want to come from outside into your dainty cool firm. If y'all set your thermostat college so it'southward warmer in day there's going to be less air menstruum. If information technology's 85 out and you lot set information technology to 65, the air conditioner has to piece of work harder. Now if you set it to 78 during the solar day and set information technology back [lower] when you go home it may accept to piece of work a little harder and run longer ... but at the same time it'due south not going to be running all twenty-four hour period."
This too speaks to importance of a programmable thermostat, she said. "That allows you to ready your temperatures and forget almost information technology." This is another expanse to check with your utility company to see if they have thermostat rebates, she said. Of course what'southward really squeamish is a wifi thermostat you can command with your telephone and then you can absurd your house before you get back home.
The same rule of thumb applies with window unit of measurement air conditioners, Urbanek said. Turn them off or to a college temperature while you're gone. I've learned that the hard way when letting a cooling system run too hard for as well long (a new mini split in my 3rd floor in a typical Kentucky summertime) fried the fan motor. (Yes, I'm getting new insulation.)
How to shop for an A/C unit
What if you have a window unit that can't go along upwards? "You may not have a correctly-sized unit for your room," said Daguillard. Tempted to go big? "An oversized air conditioner is actually less constructive — and wastes energy at the same time. Air conditioners remove both heat and humidity from the air. If the unit is also large, it volition cool the room quickly, but but remove some of the humidity. This leaves the room with a damp, clammy feeling."
And of course look for an ENERGY STAR certified air conditioner. They apply 10% less free energy, and on average, price $70 per year to run, Daguillard said. Then be sure the unit is installed correctly. "An improperly installed room air conditioner leaks every bit much air as a 6 square inch hole, increasing energy costs and making your domicile less comfortable," he said.
A improve fashion to beat the heat
One of the simplest solutions of all, Urbanek said, is to focus more on what the air feels like than the actual temperature. "If you accept ceiling fans brand sure you're using them — and the right manner, making certain the direction is prepare correctly. As you lot're standing under information technology looking upward, it should be running counterclockwise … information technology pulls cooler air from footing and blows it back on yous." Just the air from the fan "on your peel tin brand a room feel ten degrees cooler," she said. And no demand to run it if the room is empty, she added. "Information technology does nothing simply use free energy."
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Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/better/business/how-keep-your-house-cool-without-running-your-utility-bill-ncna887321
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