With summer on us and temperatures around Baton Rouge rising fast now is a good time to look at some simple inexpensive ways to keep your cool in the heat. Here are a few easy tips to lower your cooling bills and keep your home comfortable.
Prevent air leaks around your home. Weather stripping doors and windows is easy and inexpensive. Since you want to keep your cool air inside, on hot days keep your doors and windows closed as much as possible. Remember you are not trying to air condition the whole neighborhood.
Minimize heat producing activities. Save chores like ironing, laundering or dishwashing for early morning and late evening. If possible keep the doors to the kitchen and laundry room closed to help the other rooms stay cooler. Properly maintaining appliances such as refrigerators and freezers allow them to run less and minimize the hot air they produce. Open them as little as possible.
Turn on your attic fan. Use your attic fan even when the air conditioner is on. On hot days the attic can easily reach 110 degrees. All that trapped air is one big blanket for your house. It is hard to keep the lower levels of your house cool with the attic holding in all the heat. Turning on the attic fan throughout the day will cool your attic space. This will allow the hot air in the lower levels to keep rising to keep the house cool.
Replace the air filter on your AC unit. A clean filter increases the cool air flow in your house and also reduces allergens being circulated throughout your home. You should also maintain the air conditioning unit itself. Keep the ac condenser free of leaves and debris so that outside air can flow into the unit.
