We’ve already discussed how heat and humidity, the architecture of your home and sunlight can affect the temperature inside your home. Let’s go over a few more ways to stay cool without having to crank up the air conditioning.

Position Fans to Cool a Room

Fans can be placed properly to help you feel cooler. While they don’t actually cool your home, they will circulate air to make it feel more comfortable. They move air in the home that will reduce your body’s evaporated perspiration. Air flow can be maximized when fans are positioned the right way. Electric fans can be placed in your window if they open and set the blowers as high up as possible. They need to be placed outward to pull hot air out of the room. For two story homes, place the fans in the upper windows so they can suck hot air up and away. Ceiling fans need to rotate counterclockwise in the summer months to blow air straight down. The warmer the air is, the higher the speed needs to be. Fans also work to provide a cross breeze. You will feel more comfortable if you are in between these flows of air. Cross breezes don’t just occur in two dimensions. One fan in the door and one in the window can move air, but if they are set up strategically, with the fan in the door blowing cool air onto you while the window fan sucks hot air away. Do some experimenting in your home to set up a “network of fans” to keep air moving and to stay cool.

Lower Humidity in House

Now more on humidity. Humidity can make us feel very uncomfortable, but a dehumidifier or two can do wonders to make a room feel more comfortable. The best way to remove humidity is with a dehumidifier because science actually works against the ability of your wall mounted AC unit to remove humidity. To remove water from the air, the dew point needs to be lowered. The dew point is the temperature where water changes from gas to liquid. Now, your air conditioner can get below the dew point, the problem is that the dew point is not a fixed number. It depends on the humidity and the temperature outside. Basically, the higher the humidity is, the closer the dew point is to the outside temperature. It’s hard for the wall unit to pull mugginess out of the air. A dehumidifier is the only way to be more comfortable on a really muggy day.

Benefits of Unplugging Appliances

Try to limit the use of appliances on really hot days because they can make your home feel much hotter. Use a crock pot or the microwave to cook food instead of heating up the oven. Better yet, make a salad or prepare an uncooked meal. Consider washing the dishes by hand instead of turning on the dishwasher and wait till late in the evening to use the washer and dryer.

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These tips will work to avoid overheating your home, so you can use less AC when you do need to turn it on. Contact Ambient Heating & Air Conditioning for all your cooling needs this summer.