What does it mean to have a home that’s summer-ready?
Pretty much, we’re talking about a home that’s set up to cope with the summer heat. It’s the reverse of what you do in the winter months. Through the cold periods of the year, you are doing everything in your power to make your house as warm as possible. You’re investing in thicker curtains, you’re checking your insulation to ensure it’s optimal, and you’re trying to trap heat inside your home.
Now, as the temperature is rising, you want to remove as much heat from your property as you can. You need a cool home that is ready to keep you comfortable during the boiling periods. The good thing is, there are only really two things you need to do to ensure this happens:
Check your AC unit
Most homes come equipped with air conditioning units to help them deal with hot temperatures. If you don’t have one, it is well worth investing in because it genuinely fills your home with cool air. But, be sure to get AC maintenance at the start of every summer. This means your unit will be checked to see if it is working efficiently. If it isn’t, small repairs or tweaks will be made to get it in the perfect condition.
Why is this crucial? Because an efficient AC unit will cool your home without using too much energy. So, you keep your property at the ideal temperature, but you aren’t spending loads of money on crazy energy bills. Plus, an optimal AC unit should also work better, so the effects are much more obvious to feel.
Open your windows but close your blinds
Opening your windows is a good way to let fresh air come into your home. At the same time, it allows for all the warm air in your property to ventilate outside. Of course, you should close your windows if your AC unit is running. But, you can’t let it run all throughout the day – or at night – so you need an alternative cooling solution, and this is exactly that.
However, you need to ensure that your blinds are closed as well. If your blinds/curtains are wide open, the sun will shine directly into your home. Even though the windows are open, your home will get incredibly hot because of the solar energy shining in. Closing the blinds can stop this, creating shade that feels nice and cool. Some light curtains could also be useful here, blocking the sun without making your home feel too dark.
There you go; two things you must do to get your home summer-ready. If you’re worried about the second tip making your house too dark, there is one other thing to consider. Only close the blinds on windows that are facing the sun. If no sun shines through a window, you can leave it completely open to allow more light inside. Or, you can open the blinds slightly to let some light in without filling your home with too much sun!
