On real estate
Love summer but hate the high electric bills that follow high heat? When temps soar, how can you stay comfortable at home without breaking the bank?
First block the sun. As much as 20 percent of summer heat enters your home as sunlight shining through windows. To cut solar heat gain, add curtains or blinds to rooms that get direct sun and draw them in daylight hours.
Pay special attention to west facing rooms late in the day. Outside, install awnings or roll up coolaroo shades. Open windows in the evening when outside temps are lower than inside. Cool air reduces the temperature of walls, floors, and furniture that absorb heat, helping inside air stay cooler longer.
Install a programmable thermostat to preset temperatures for different times of the day. When you leave home for more than one hour, set the thermostat to 85 or 90 degrees. Reset it upon your return, and the room will cool down in only 15 minutes. The system will use less energy during the cool-down period than if you had left it running at a lower setting while you were out.
Fans of all types are efficient cooling machines. Make sure ceiling fans are spinning in a counterclockwise direction to push air down. At night, place fans in open windows to move cool air inside. Also consider installing a whole-house fan. When run at night with the windows open, a whole house fan will pull cool air into the house as it vents hot air out through the attic.
The temperature in your attic can reach 150 degrees on a hot summer day and drive up cooling costs by as much as 40%. If your attic has less than R-22 insulation – 7 inches of fiberglass or rock wool, or 6 inches of cellulous – you should add more. The US Department of Energy says most homes should have between R-22 and R-49 insulation in the attic. Leaky ducts can cut into airconditioning efficiency. Have an HVAC pro check your ducts for torn or separated areas and tune up the air-conditioning unit.
Prepare for global warming with
strategic landscaping. Plant a 6- to 8- foot deciduous tree this fall
on the south or west side of your property and it will start shading
your home next summer. Shading is the most cost effective way to reduce
solar heat gain and cool your home’s walls, windows and roof.
Adriana Donofrio Podley Properties Glendora (626) 926-9700 • adrianad@podley.com
