Colorado Springs Real Estate Facts & Fun

Keep the air flowing. In the evening, open windows and use fans to create a cross-breeze, circulating cooler evening/night air through the rooms. Do not leave a fan on in an enclosed room when no one is present. A fan does not cool the air already in the room; in fact it heats it. The fan’s motor generates heat and even the circulating air creates a less significant amount of heat from friction. It just feels cooler when you are present because of natural moisture evaporation from the skin, which does cool your body; but only if you are in the room. So, save electricity and turn off all fans in enclosed rooms not occupied. As soon as the sun hits the building the next morning, close all windows and keep doors and windows closed throughout the day until it is cooler outside than it is inside. Then you can open everything up again and cool off to be prepared for the next day. Leaving kitchen cabinets open all night helps too; if you leave them closed, they store the heat and your house won’t cool off as much.

Close your blinds. Close your blinds and curtains during the day to block the sun. For even better protection, get aluminized blinds (or use removable sheets of cardboard cut to size and covered in foil.) At night, open selective windows that cooler night air is blowing in. If possible, purchase a fan (such as from SMC) that are meant to install in a window. There should be an in, out,and exchange switch which controls the direction the air blows. These aren’t overly expensive and work really well.

Turn off electrical heat sources. Turn off the stove or other sources of heat. Don’t use the stove or oven to eat–eat out, eat cold food, r use the microwave. Incandescent light bulbs also create heat – switch to compact fluorescents. Turn off your lamps, as well as your computer when you’re not using it. Turn off your TV – it gives off a lot of heat.

Adjust your pilot light. If you have a gas stove with pilot lights, make sure they are set correctly. Too high and they’ll produce excess heat. We stop using the oven in the summer and just turn the gas off.

Use light-colored roofing. If you have the choice, choose a lighter roof or roof coating. It will reflect sunlight rather than absorbing it.

Insulate. A home that has well-insulated walls and attic will actually keep the heat out in hot seasons. Just imagine your home as a gigantic ice cooler! There are lots of insulation options to choose from, including types that can be conveniently blown into your walls without much hassle. Another bonus is that there may be government grants to help offset the cost of this kind of upgrade.

Plant trees. Trees can shade your home or yard and keep things considerably cooler. Deciduous trees, those that lose their leaves in winter, will let sunlight through in winter when it’s desired and create shade in summer. Awnings and planning the exposure of windows and doors in a home you are building can also provide shade. The south and west sides of your home will generally be the hottest and most in need of shade.

Send up the cool air. If your home has a basement and central air system, have an HVAC professional add a cold air return in the basement to pull the naturally cool air that falls down and recycle it into the rest of your home by simply setting your furnace to “fan” mode.

Install a individual room ventilation system with a cool air intake,hot air exhaust and temperature and humidity controls. This will bring the night time air in and let the ac take over in the middle of the day.

Install a whole-house fan. This will push hot air into the attic, where it dissipates via attic vents. To cool your house, open a door to the basement, and make sure that all doors between the basement and the room where the fan is located are open. Turn it on at night and open downstairs windows, and that’ll cool down the house. However, make sure that you’ve got good attic vents, or else your attic won’t take the heat.

Install attic vents. It’s amazing how much difference a cool attic makes to the heat of a house, and it stops that uncomfortable feeling of when you’ve got a cool house but you feel heat radiating down onto your head.

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