Simple tips on how to keep your home cool for less this summer
It looks like it could be an unseasonably warm and dry end of the year for Melbourne. With spring approaching, now is a great time to start considering your home cooling plan for the summer. Home cooling doesn't have to be a huge expense, we've got a few simple and cost-effective ways you can take the swelter out of summer this year.
Used in combination these simple tips can help to reduce the ambient temperature of your home significantly, cutting down the need for expensive cooling measures.
Ceiling fans
Electrically powered ceiling fans have been keeping people fresh since 1882 and are often an overlooked form of cooling the home.
A ceiling fan only uses around $0.13 (on low setting) to $1.29 (cranking) per hour to operate. That equates to a trifle $1.90 to $18.86 a year*, making the ceiling fan a very economical cooling choice for every room in your home.
With an overwhelming array of fan styles, sizes, blade counts, and colour options on the market, from budget to extravagant, there's sure to be a fan perfect for your home decor, space, and cooling requirements. (A quick check of a major fan retailer's site presented more than 200 alternatives.)
Keep costs to a minimum by turning the fan off if you leave the area. Ceiling fans are most effective at cooling people not rooms.
Shade
We're not suggesting you plant a fast-growing tree and pump it full of liquid fertiliser every second day from now till November to shade your home, however, there are many other ways to keep the sun from turning your house into an oven this summer.
- Awnings - fitting awnings over the windows which get direct sun during the late morning or early afternoon can help to keep the temperature inside your home down.
- Substantial curtains or blinds - as with awnings, closing the curtains or blinds simply blocks the direct light and much of the heat entering your home.
- Plants - this is obviously not a quick fix, however, keeping the shading of your house in mind when designing and planting your garden can provide a natural way to keep your household comfortable.
Quality insulation
Home insulation keeps the scorching summer heat out and the cool in. Good quality, well laid, insulation can reduce household climate control bills by up to 40% by decreasing the need to use extra methods like air conditioning in the summer or heaters in the winter.
Make sure you ask your licenced electrician to check over the insulation in the ceiling to ensure it doesn't pose a safety or fire risk by covering lights, exhaust fans, or other electrical infrastructure.
For more information on insulation in your home take a look at - Sustainability Victoria
Switch your lighting
This point is a bit more involved but the benefits are many. Switching from a very hot lighting option like halogen bulbs to low-heat LED lights can reduce the temperature of a room as well as provide big savings on your power bill.
Halogen bulbs waste much of the power they consume in heat, around 80%, however, an equivalent LED bulb runs much cooler and uses 75% less power to produce a similar amount of light.
These small changes could make a huge difference to the comfort of your home this summer, so why not give them a try?
Keep reading for more intriguing electrical info
* using the fan 4 hours a day, every day.
References - http://yourenergysavings.gov.au/energy/heating-cooling/insulation, https://www.canstarblue.com.au/energy/electricity/running-cost-ceiling-fans/