The heat is on right now and it is a summer that is record setting in most parts of the country. With global warming increasing temperatures everywhere, we can expect that this trend will continue for the foreseeable future.
What this means is that our air conditioners will be called into action much more often and that of course means much higher electricity bills. The AC is the biggest electricity hog in a home and with many on tight budgets keeping the AC running all day and night is costly but needed. But even when we sometimes want to run the AC we cannot because it breaks down. The first thing to do it this happens in the heart of the heat is to get it repaired. And, you should do whatever you need to do financially to make this happen because the extreme heat can kill. If you do not have the money to repair your AC this summer, consider one of the fast installment loans that are quick and easy to secure. You can get the money you need fast to get you back to being cool.
In the meantime, we offer these common sense alternatives for keeping cool when your AC breaks down.
Minimize Things in Your Home that Cause Heat
We do not notice that many things we can do around the house particularly during certain times of the day can cause our homes to get warmer. Here are a list of things that we should only do when the day has cooled off so as to not add to the daytime heat.
Using the Oven: The ovens job is to cook food and needless to say it generates a considerable amount of heat. When you use your oven during the day time you can heat up your entire home. Instead you should plan to do all of your cooking during the night so that you don’t add to the daytime’s already sweltering temperatures. This will take a little bit of planning, but after a short while you will be comfortable with making your meals only during the night.
Running the Dishwasher: your dishwasher uses heat to help clean and dry your dishes and silverware. So here again running it during the daytime can make your home warmer. You should adopt the habit of hand washing dishes during the daytime and running your dishwasher only after the sun goes down. Taking the smart approach will make you and your family feel cooler.
Be Careful with Lights: Not many people think about how much heat lighting can add to a room. If you put your hand close to a light bulb you’ll notice how warm the air is around the light bulb. You can do two things to cool your lighting down. First, only turn the lights on when you are actually in the room and even then as an alternative open blinds or drapes to let in natural light. Second, change your lighting to LED bulbs or compact fluorescents because they give off very little heat and they save money too.
Maximize Things That Cause Cooling
There are also things that you can do around your home that can help it to stay cool or even cool down. Here are few.
Close Windows and Blinds: is wonderful to have the sun shining into your home and using natural lighting. The challenges that The Sun Also brings heat with it which will in addition to Bringing light also warm up your home. You should close all blinds and drapes and those rooms where you are not currently· doing this alone can often lower the temperature in your home 10 degrees. If you are in a room and it is too dark, it is a better option to turn on and LED light during the daytime rather than opening the blinds. This will give you the light you need and also keep your cool.
Use fans: fans only use a fraction of the electricity when compared to an AC unit. Turning on the fan can bring immediate air circulation to room and cool you down. You should consider getting ceiling fans which can cover nearly an entire room with cool circulating air. If the room is already cool, the fan will continue to keep the room cool for longer periods. The key is to turn the fans off when you leave the room in order to conserve the most electricity and save you money.
