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Keeping your cool this summer!
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Wind driven roof vent turbine
With this week being the official beginning of summer, I thought it might be a good time to talk about keeping your house cool and your electric bill down. In Minnesota our summer is so short; however, the summer months we have can be very hot and muggy. Here are a few tips to help keep your home cooler this summer season.
Install wind driven roof vent turbines. The wind driven roof vent turbine is a wonderful way to vent attic space heat at no cost to the homeowner. Wind turbines help to draw in outside air into the attic space to help keep attic temperatures the same as outside temperatures. Power vent units also do a great job but the downside is the expense to run the motor to operate the fan. The reason of attic ventilation is to remove heat from attic spaces, and to be able to do that at no cost. I always recommend aluminum turbines because they are very light in weight and it takes very little wind to get them spinning.
Turn off heating and cooling registers in unused rooms. Closing the supply registers in unoccupied rooms and closing the doors into the rooms will push more of the cooled air to the rest of the house that is being used. The air conditioner will work less to satisfy the thermostat and save you money.
Install ceiling fans. Because air will rise when it is hot and fall when it is cooled installing ceiling fans will move the air throughout the room to keep the temperature in the room a lot more even and comfortable. Ceiling fans can also save the expense of running air conditioning units on a day when the temperature is not very hot. The electricity used to run a ceiling fan is much less than running an air conditioner.
Keep air conditioner coils and condensers clean. Central air conditioning systems have two coils: the evaporator coil and the condenser coil. The evaporator coil is located in the sheet metal plenum (box) right above the furnace. This coil cools the air as it passes through on the way to the rooms of the home. If this coil is not kept clean, the air will have trouble passing through the coil and the furnace fan will work much harder. Most furnace plenums will have an opening - most of the time it is a heat register which can be removed so the coil can be viewed and cleaned if needed. Evaporator coils will stay clean if the furnace filter is being changed on a regular basis. The condenser coil is located outside your home and should be kept free of grass, leaves and other debris from the yard so it can dissipate the heat that comes back in the Freon that is used to cool the evaporator coil. The condenser coil can be easily cleaned with your garden hose which will not hurt the unit.
Power saver switches for air conditioners. Many of the power companies offer what is called a “power saver” switch. The switch will cycle the power off to your central air conditioning unit for a predetermined amount of time every hour. Most power saver switches work on the basis of 15 minutes on, and 15 minutes off. Most power companies will install the switch at no charge; the time when the unit is cycled off will save you money at the expense of only a slight amount of home comfort.
Install additional insulation in your attic. By adding insulation to your attic space you reduce the amount of cooling that is lost into your attic. Take a look in your attic and measure how much insulation you currently have. Adding insulation to your attic will also help with your cooling bill by keeping the cool air in your home. The cost of additional insulation will usually pay for itself in energy savings.
Tint windows that receive direct sunlight. Does your house have west-facing windows that receive the hot, late afternoon sun? If you do, getting those windows tinted will help reduce the amount of heat coming through the windows and will help keep your home cooler. Another benefit of tinting windows is that it will help to prevent furniture and carpets from fading in the direct sunlight. Another alternative is to close blinds or drapes in the afternoon.
I hope these “cool” tips will help you enjoy the summer and leave a few extra coins in your pocket!
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