How to stay cool and comfortable in your home this summer.
Keep out the unwanted heat by shading the north and west sides of your home and having insulation installed. Adjustable external shading, deciduous trees, or simply closing curtains and blinds will keep your home cooler in summer. Be aware if you insulate without shading, your home can get very hot and insulation will keep the heat inside, shading will reduce this happening.
Opening and closing your home for effective cooling
When using refrigerative air conditioner, only use the areas you need by closing internal doors and using the zone controls on a whole house system. Sealing gaps around door and windows will reduce wasted energy.
Evaporative coolers work differently.
Opening some doors and windows will increase airflow and improve the effectiveness of the system. Whichever system you are using, if it is cooler outside at night you can save energy by turning your system off and opening windows and doors to allow cool breezes into your home, don’t forget to use window locks or lockable screen doors to keep your home secure.
Fans, ceiling or portable fans are the cheapest type of cooling appliances to run, while they do not cool heat they create air movement which helps to carry heat away from the body.
Evaporative Coolers, evaporative coolers use water and a fan to blow humidified air into your home and have very low running costs, they are well suited to dry climates. To work effectively evaporative coolers need good ventilation so the cooled air can replace the warm external air.
Refrigerative Air Conditioners, Refrigerative air conditioners cool air to a set temperature by removing heat from the room. Refrigerative air conditioners cost significantly more to run but work in all weather conditions. To help minimise a refrigerative air conditioners running costs make sure the home is well insulated and draught proofed.
The larger the area the more energy you will use and the higher your running costs will be.
Setting the thermostat to 24-26 C or as high as is comfortable for you, will reduce running costs.