Air Conditioning: Green Tips On How To Stay Cool

During warm days, your initial reaction is to cool yourself off. But using the air conditioning system ceaselessly can also create a gaping hole in our pockets. There are other ways to cool off that doesn't include turning on your system. Here are some green tips that you can follow to feel cool during hot and scorching months of summer.

 1. Dress lightly - avoid wool and other clothes that cannot keep you cool. Again, dress lightly. This way you don't have to keep on complaining about the scorching heat of the sun and letting your system run and work harder to make you feel cool.

 2. Turn on the electric fan - turn on the fan and instead of waiting for the cool air to reach your skin, go near it and let it flow directly on your skin. Apparently, when air is blown directly on your skin, you'll feel cooler. But if you let the air travel a few meters before you enjoy the air coming from it, it accumulates more heat from the environment. By the time it reaches you, it's already as warm as your room. Also, make sure that you don't leave your electric fan on all day. Just like any other home appliance, the motor of the electric fan adds heat to your house.

 3. Turn off unused appliance - turn off and unplug home appliance that are not used. This is because running appliances emits heat. The more appliances are on, the more heat your house will have to accumulate. So if you have 3 televisions, now is the time to use only one. If you have a dishwasher, try not to wash the plates until the evening. Evening air is cooler and this can offset the heat that your dishwasher emits. You won't only feel cool if you use this technique, you'll also save energy.

 4. Control the humidity - the higher the humidity, the harder it is for you to keep cool. So make sure that you control this. This can be done by sealing up air leaks that are present in your house. You can hire an HVAC contractor for this type of project. There are some DIY articles on the net too if you don't want to hire a contractor. Make sure that the RH is lower than 50%.

 5. Open windows and doors - you can open the doors and windows in the evening or early in the morning. This way cool air can come in and hot air can escape from your house. In the morning, close the doors and windows before it gets too hot to prevent hot air from coming in. If your house is properly insulated, your house will stay cool for a while. When it already feels too hot, you can turn on your air conditioning system. Then, turn it off just before the sun sets and open the doors and windows again.