How to Keep Your Home Cool and Energy-Efficient During the Summer Months

Summer is a wonderful period when the sun shines and trips abound. It is indeed a wonderful period, yet it can also cost a penny for your electric bill. In addition to heat costs due to the desire for your home to be cool in the summer and Meralco rates going up, it can also call for more air-conditioning use. During hot summer days, it’s almost impossible to keep your electricity use down just to stay cool and comfortable.

We’ve rounded up a few tips to help you survive a hot summer season at home without your electricity use hiking up. Keeping your home cool and energy-efficient in summer also helps you lessen your electric bill— a win-win situation for you and the environment.

Block the sun with curtains and blinds

Curtains and blinds are not only decorative, but they also help you save energy. During the hottest parts of the house during the day, keeping them partly opened or entirely closed helps reduce heat gain by up to 45%. This way, you can keep the cool air that was accumulated overnight as you kept the heat out. Although, we suggest tying curtains together and pulling blinds up during the hottest part of the house during the night so you can open your windows and allow air flow from the cool night breeze to move through your home, drawing the hot air out and inviting the cool air in.

Use plants to cool your surroundings

Take advantage of nature to help you keep your energy use down this summer. It’s very cool in the summer and a perfect time to improve your home garden since plants help block sunlight and heat naturally. Position your plants outside windows facing the south and west since these directions are where the most direct sunlight rays come from. Additionally, if you could have plants around the outdoor parts of your air-conditioning system, this enables your air-conditioner to function 10% more efficiently.

Schedule your air-conditioner for maintenance

When your air-conditioner’s filter is dirty, it forces the unit to work doubly hard to maintain the thermostat. The airways inside your aircon unit could get blocked by dirt and debris which obligate your air conditioner to exert more effort, requiring your air conditioner to consume more power. Plus, old and dirty filters can also be harmful to your indoor temperature and health since they push dust particles to circulate within your home, and eventually, inhalation of these particles can affect your health.  In some cases, a simple replacement or cleaning of the filters can do the trick. This is also the perfect time to check on the Freon level of your aircon, as it may already be due for replenishment.

Beyond your air conditioner’s performance, you can also check air conditioners and whether the filters need changing through physical checks. If you’re unsure, then it may be best to contact air-conditioning specialists who can guarantee that your air-conditioner unit functions as efficiently as possible.

Opt for fans

There are several ways you can make your air-conditioner more efficient, but fans are vastly superior in terms of better cooling and efficiency of energy use. On average, fans only use 1/6th the energy that an an air conditioning unit would. While it’s true that fans don’t cool the air as much as an air conditioner, they can help cooler air circulate. You can be strategic about your fan’s placement inside the home. Allow it to face the door to draw hot air out and keep your house cool throughout. Fans also keep you cooler since they help body heat dissipate. All these benefits make fans a great low-cost alternative to air conditioning units.

However, you can also use fans in your rooms in conjunction with your aircon unit. You can set your aircon to a lower temperature, effectively allowing the fan behind it to be cooler and consume less electricity. Also, have a ceiling fan on to help the cool air circulate through laundry room.

You can even time the air conditioner when allowing it to cool your house or room at the desired temperature level for hours, then shut it off and let the fans carry on cooling the temperature for the remainder of the day or night.

Keep doors and windows closed when the a/c is on

Cooling your home in summer becomes more efficient if you’re keeping the cold air centralized in a specific area or room. Keep windows in this room insulated by keeping the door closed. Additionally, you can close off spaces around the door to help stop the cool air from escaping using a seal gap.

There may also be cracks in windows and doors that you may not be aware of. Do a thorough check up of your windows and doors and secure all the cracks to ensure that you’re keeping the cool air in and cooling the house with the hot and warm air out.

Avoid heat-emitting appliances

Several appliances at home discharge waste heat while they run. Some examples of these appliances include television sets, stoves, refrigerators, microwaves, exhaust ceiling fans, and some lights. Apart from this, you may also read Spectrum Error Codes for setting up a TV. In itself, it increases the energy consumption of said appliances. It also raises the overall temperature in your home, making it difficult for your aircon unit to maintain a comfortable temperature. To maximize the energy use of these appliances, it’s best to keep them off during the day, running them at night instead if possible. Or you can opt to do all the cooking at home cooler at a particular time of day while turning off the aircon and only begin using it when everything is accomplished. Before turning on the aircon, it is best to let the hot air out with the use of fans.

Many modern appliances out in the market are now energy-efficient. If you’re looking to keep energy costs or upgrade your appliances, look for those with a high EEF (Energy Efficient Factor) score. This score shows that the appliance uses minimal energy and comes with a reduced operating cost. You can also switch out your halogen and incandescent lights, which are heat-emitting, in certain rooms of your house as it favors the better efficiency of  LED lights.

The summer months should be a fun time without having to worry about skyrocketing electric bills and excessive energy use. At Camella, we encourage energy efficiency and even promote energy conservation. We equip you with the tools and knowledge to save and keep energy bills and keep your energy bill for your home cool and more sustainable this summer and through the rest of the year.