Getting Your Home’s AC Ready For Summer
AC Blowing Warm Air
Cooling Without Air Conditioning
With summer just a few months away it is time to start thinking about air conditioning. Once the temperature starts to rise HVAC company’s busy season will begin with service calls for air conditioning that won’t start up or AC that is blowing warm air. Beat the busy season and schedule air conditioning service and inspection before the season begins. The improved efficiency you will gain with a tuned up and clean system will potentially pay for the cost of the service or even more!
With the cost of energy always on the rise many people look for ways to reduce their electrical bill. In the following we will look at some options for assistance on cooling your home while reducing the electric bill without using air conditioning.
If your home is well insulated the temperature should rise about a degree an hour as the temperature climbs. When the nights are cool open windows and allow the cool evening and early morning air to circulate through your home. For the best results, promote cross ventilation by opening windows on opposite sides of the house. If a breeze is blowing take note of the direction. If it is blowing west to east, open windows on the west and east sides of your house to maximize cross ventilation.
Some homes are designed with cupolas, clerestory windows (high windows in upper walls or attics), vented skylights and attic vents. When windows or other openings located at the top of the house are opened it allows heat to escape. By providing an open window at the bottom of the house where temperatures are cooler it creates a siphoning effect. As the warm air rises to exit the opening at the top of the house, it pulls cooler air in from the open source located at the bottom of the house.
If your home doesn’t have any of these features don’t despair, the installation of an attic fan can remove hot air in the attic, while a whole house fan will mimic the siphoning effect. An attic fan is installed in the gable of your home with a large ventilation panel located at the opposite gable. The attic fan pulls heat out of the attic and cooler air into the attic, reducing the temperature of the home below. If you have shade on one gable, locating the ventilation panel in that location will allow cooler air to enter the attic from the shade providing a temperature that can be as much as 20 degrees lower than temperatures in the sun.
A whole house fan is another option. These powerful fans draw the cooler early morning and evening air through open windows or doors forcing air up through the attic and out of the roof vents. This pulls cooler air into your house and forces hot air out of the attic. These fans are typically mounted in a hallway ceiling or in the stairwell upstairs and require a minimum clearance above the fan, generally about 3 ft. They are available in different sizes to provide the effectiveness that you need for the homes size.
During the day when the outside is heating up, keep your house closed tight to prevent the entry of excess heat. During the heat of the day avoid the use of those appliances which create heat such as dishwashers, dryers and the oven. Use them in the cooler early morning or evening hours. Use the microwave when you have to cook during the day. Incandescent light bulbs also generate heat, and by leaving them off and opening drapes to take advantage of the suns light you may prevent heat, even better switch to CFL’s or LED bulbs.
Windows located on the east (morning) and west (evening) side of the home allow warm sunlight to enter and will heat your home up. Leave the drapes closed on those windows until the warm sun does not enter, or install energy efficient low-e window film to block the suns heat on east and west windows.
Another potentially useful means of pulling the cool morning and evening air into your home is the window fan. Depending upon the size of your home and the size of the fan’s motor a window fan can potentially pull a cooling breeze into multiple windows. Most of the fans available at retail stores do not have a powerful enough motor to do this, and you can always use these fans to pull cool air into a room and use as many as you like. When the home is cool, and before it begins to heat up outside close drapes in sunny windows, as well as all the windows and doors to hold the cool air in as long as possible. The cooler air inside will reduce the workload on the air conditioner and your electrical bill.
If you have ceiling fans they can assist you in feeling cooler. Fans with strong motors can circulate air making the areas they are in feel dramatically cooler. Ensure fans are not within the reach of small children to prevent injury and teach them to keep little hands away from fans.
These tips can assist you in keeping cool without air conditioning during the parts of the day and evening when outside temperatures are cooler. In turn, this will save on energy costs.
Cypress Heating and Air Conditioning cares about your comfort. Don’t wait until the temperatures have already climbed to potentially find out that your ac is blowing warm air. Give us a call to schedule a pre-season tune-up by our experienced and certified technicians. Emergency service is available 24 hours a day, and seven days a week for your convenience and comfort.
