Tips for helping your home stay cooler for less
With dangerous heat making another return to much of the Midwest, the cost of keeping cool has skyrocketed. Forecasted highs are expected into the triple digits with the heat index in some areas reaching possibly 108 degrees for Saturday.
Currently winds in the lower jet stream are surging out of the southwest. This means winds are traveling over areas such as Texas and Oklahoma before reaching Mid-Missouri helping to lead to our stark increase in afternoon highs.
In light of the current heat, there are a few tips in order to help keep you cooler in your home without breaking the bank.
The first tips rely on ceiling fans in your home. The most important thing to do is to make sure your ceiling fans are turning counterclockwise to enable downdrafts to support cooling. Fans will help with air movement which will allow for body heat to be pushed away and for increases in the evaporation of sweat leading to increased cooling.
The second grouping of tips relies on blocking out sunshine. Using dark and effective blinds such as blackout blinds, help eliminate sunshine from heating up your room. Another tip is to use exterior plants such as bushes or trees to help naturally block out sunlight. One of the most important combatants is to top off your ceiling insulation to aid in keeping heat from the roof from reaching the inside of your house.
And with the cost of electricity increasing, using it smarter and not harder helps a ton. Making sure to seal door frames and window frames helps your A/C to keep up along with the changing out of old light bulbs for more energy efficient ones. And the last important tip is to take advantage of overnight cooler temperatures. This could mean cracking a window and matching your thermostat to outdoor temperatures to help save more money and overall beat the heat.
