The National Weather Service has stated, “Heat is the leading weather-related killer in the United States, resulting in hundreds of fatalities each year.” Heat waves can occur across the nation including areas that are accustomed to triple digit temperatures and don’t rely on HVAC systems as much as hotter climates. Knowing how to keep your home cool in summer heat is crucial during these times.
To balance keeping your home or office at a comfortable temperature while not incurring massive utility bills, enact the following practices.
Cool Home In High Heat
Use fans to move conditioned air around the space.
Ceiling fans and box fans can help move chilled air around the house. Instead of lowering the temperature and increasing the cost of your power bill, try turning on some fans first. They use less electricity. Just make sure that your ceiling fan is turning counterclockwise for summer. The clockwise spinning direction is for winter.
Don’t turn off the HVAC system when you leave during the day.
It seems reasonable to turn off the system when you won’t be home during the day. However, when you come back home and turn it on, the system has to work harder to cool down the house from a hotter temperature than it would have been if you had left it on. Instead of turning off the system entirely, consider increasing the temperature by a few degrees when you won’t be home.
Speaking of temperature, don’t set the temperature too low.
The hotter it is outside, the cooler you want it to be inside. But that can lead not only to soaring utility bills, but to an overworked HVAC system at greater risk of failure. It is advised to keep the thermostat above 70 degrees (preferably closer to 75 degrees). Again, use fans in order to increase chilled air flow through the house before going below this temperature. The system can go up to 78 degrees when you’re not at home.
Keep the sunlight out.
Direct sunlight streaming in through the windows can make the home’s interior much hotter. Close window blinds or invest in UV-blocking curtains to keep the summer sun out.
Change your air filter regularly.
Dust and debris is more likely to enter the system as it runs for longer periods of time. Air filters are the main defense against dust clogging up the system’s mechanisms, coils, and condensate drain line. Dust in the system can lead to decreased efficiency; you’ll need to run the system harder (incurring increased costs) just to feel comfortable.
Keep the condensate drain line clear.
Dust and debris in the system mixes with condensation that the air conditioner produces and creates bacteria-laden water in the air handler’s pan. This water is supposed to flow out through the condensate drain line, but this line often becomes clogged with debris and bacterial/fungal growths. While pan tablets and manual cleaning address the symptoms for short periods, they can’t solve the problem.
A clogged condensate line can result in a backflow of condensate into the pan and secondary pan. A working float switch may shut the air conditioner off so that you can manually clean out the line. A system without a switch will probably overflow and cause water damage.
eTrapp Condensate Treatment System keeps the condensate drain line clear. It kills bacteria, fungi, and algae in the condensate via the cartridge that contains an eco-friendly proprietary compound. The compound is non-corrosive on plumbing, and it includes gelling technology so that debris can’t attach to the walls of the output pipe.
This summer is on track to be hotter than average. Check out Heat.gov by the National Integrated Heat Health Information System to see if you’re under a heat warning. Contact the eTrapp Team at info@edeltainc.com or call 833-984-4100 to learn more about how to keep your home cool in summer heat and how eTrapp Condensate Treatment System works to keep things running like they should.