How to Keep the Temperature in Your House within Pleasant Boundaries in the Summer

Do you find yourself going to your icebox a couple of times a day during the summer? Do you frequently dream about living in Iceland when you stay at home? Millions of homeowners in Toronto and elsewhere are affected by this problem every summer. Here we bring some tips to help you prepare for the long hot summer next year.

The easiest option: Air-conditioners

If you want to try to decrease the temperature inside your house, there are different ways how to achieve that. The most effective, but most costly, is the conventional air-conditioner. If this is your favourite option, then there are some practical tips to make sure you are getting the best value possible from your AC unit. Firstly, make sure you have the correct size unit for your house or condo. For a usual home with two bedrooms, a 5,000 btu AC is usually enough. Ideally, the machine should be located in a window on the wall that faces north, if that is possible. Like this, the machine itself will be kept cooler and will operate more efficiently. The internal filters should be cleaned at least monthly, so that all the house dust doesn’t build up and complicate the operation of the machine. If you plan on leaving your house for more than one hour, then it is more economical to turn your AC off and to re-cool the rooms when you return.

Solutions for green-thinking customers

What if you are environmentally responsible and are against the use of these power-hungry machines? Well, your home can get cooler even if you don’t want to waste the fossil fuels releasing CO2 and contribute to global warming. We will start with the top of your house and proceed downwards step by step.

Roof

You probably already know that heat is transferred through some materials quite easily and through some others not. Tiles, shingles or other types of roofing materials are a good example of this. If you want to save on air-conditioning, think about using a good-quality insulation to your attic space. A 12-inch layer instead of a 3-inch might decrease the cooling budget by as much as 10 percent.

More tips and tricks are published in the Keeping your Toronto home cool article.