Now that summer has officially arrived, it’s hard to escape the heat! Here are the Gillette & Associates official, cost-effective tips to beat the heat during the warmest months of summer in Nanaimo.
1. Keep blinds directly facing the sun closed
This helps to block direct sunlight from entering your home at peak times. This doesn’t mean to hide away from the sun for the entire day, but to follow the sun as it moves. Starting in the morning with west facing windows (with the sunrise). When the sun is directly hitting different areas of your home you can open up these blinds to still allow for natural light to fill your space. Aside from blinds, curtains are a great way to let in light while blocking the direct sun. Blackout curtains take this one step further by blocking sunlight almost completely and is much more effective at keeping your space cool.
2. Outdoor blinds and window coverings
Outdoor solutions work more effectively to keep the heat out of your home by blocking more sunlight before it is magnified by your windows. Aside from bamboo blinds and other window covering solutions, outdoor awnings are a great way to block direct sunlight from entering your windows. Another benefit to having awnings on your home is that it provides more shaded areas in your outdoor space for you to enjoy.
3. Upgrade Lightbulbs
If you have any incandescent or halogen bulbs in your home these can give off heat. While this isn’t overly significant, it doesn’t help, especially if you have light fixtures with multiple bulbs. Upgrading your lighting to LED bulbs makes your home more efficient and will give your lights a longer life. LEDs also run about 50% cooler than incandescent or halogen light bulbs and about 20% cooler than compact fluorescent lightbulbs.
4. Effective Use of Doors
At cooler times of day, like in the morning before it heats up, and in the evening when it starts to cool off, opening your doors allows the cool air into your home. This also provides an opportunity to get a breeze of cool air through your home. Another way to ensure that your doorways are helping to keep your home cool is to utilize the doors inside your home. If you have rooms that aren’t always in use such as a studio, or guest room, keeping these doors closed will focus the cooler air into spaces of the home that you use more frequently and want to keep cool on a day-to-day basis.
5. Check your Bedding
Cotton sheets and covers are recommended for the summer months as they don’t retain as much heat as flannel or fleece. Pillows with cooling gel or other cooling solutions will also help to keep you cooler while you sleep and make your space more comfortable.
6. Ceiling Fans
Ceiling fans typically have a switch on them to change directions. In the winter we want our ceiling fans to rotate clockwise as this will take the hot air that rises to the ceiling and push it back down towards the floor. In the summer, we want to rotate ceiling fans counter clockwise and at a higher speed to create a breeze effect.
7. Utilize Exhaust Fans
Bathroom and hood fans can be utilized to help take the hot air out of your home. These fans that are connected to the outside of your home will pull the hot air as it rises and push it outside of your home leaving the cooler air. This will also help to remove the warmer steam from a shower as well as the heat coming off your stove and oven while you are cooking.
8. Barbecue Season
When your home is already too hot, turning on the stove or oven is only going to make it hotter. Moving your cooking space outdoors is a great way to keep from heating up your indoor space and gives you an excuse to get outside and use your patio space.