Nobody wants to be uncomfortable in their own home, especially in the hot summer or during a cold winter. Maintaining a consistent and comfortable temperature in your house is the result of a number of factors, from the condition of the sealing on your windows and doors and the quality of your HVAC system. When your house is frequently too hot or cold to the point of discomfort, it might be time to look into which home improvement projects you can take on to facilitate having better climate control indoors. After all, you want to be cooler but you’re not trying to live in a freezer. If you’re not sure where to get started, read on for several smart ways to beat the hot days that summer brings.
How to Beat the Heat
If you’ve ever lived in an area with really hot weather in the summer, you know how unpleasant it can be to deal with the rising temperatures, even indoors. If you live somewhere that there is a lot of direct sunlight on your living room windows, it might be a good idea to get some blinds or curtains to block it out when the sunlight gets overwhelming. While sometimes opening the windows can help on a warm day, sometimes it still gets too hot to be able to handle intense direct sunlight indoors. Remember that light-colored fabric is the best idea, as it reflects the sun. Another easy way to manage hot weather indoors is to cook outdoors, or cook meals that don’t require extended use of a hot oven. One old school way to cool down a room involves hanging a damp sheet in front of an open window when there’s a breeze.
Options like ceiling fans and standing fans can also make a difference indoors, however, ultimately, when it comes to regulating the indoor climate of your home or business, an air conditioner is the best option. If your house or apartment doesn’t have one, it might be time to look into investing. As a bonus, a high-quality, well-maintained HVAC system comes in handy whether it’s sweltering hot outside or icy cold. Experts recommend maintenance for your HVAC at least once a year. There’s just nothing that can compare to icy cold air conditioning when there’s record humidity or scorching hot weather outside, so making sure that technicians are keeping your air conditioner up to speed is a great way to have a cooler body temperature.
Preparing for Cold Weather
Preparing your house for cold weather is an essential part of being a homeowner. What that preparation entails depends a lot on the type of home you have and the specific climate and weather conditions in your area. Inspecting all your windows and doors is a good place to start. Look for any cracks or crevices where cold air could get in during the winter. Cold drafts aren’t just uncomfortable, they also increase the cost of regulating the temperature indoors with an HVAC system. If you have an HVAC system with a timer, you can use it to automatically turn the heat on when you’re home, and especially when you’re asleep, if you find that cold weather is keeping you up on chilly nights.
Adding visual interest with accents like curtains is one of the common decorating tips for new homeowners, but did you know curtains can also help a room retain heat in the cold? When it starts to get dark and the temperature begins to drop, consider closing your curtains to help provide another layer of insulation between your room and the outdoors. Curtains that are long enough to go past the bottom of the windowsill can also help mask drafts coming from crevices you may not have noticed.
Indoor climate control is one of the most important parts of maintaining a comfortable environment at home, especially in areas that are prone to extreme heat or cold. Relying on an HVAC system alone to heat or cool the inside of your home can be expensive, though it is still the most effective option for anyone looking to manage the temperature inside their home. Still, it’s a good idea to do more than just rely on your HVAC when it gets too hot or too cold. There are plenty of low-tech things you can do that’ll help you beat seasonal hot weather or cold weather and stay warm (or cool) in your home.
