Keeping Cool in the Heat

It’s summer time, the sun is shining and the weather is warm or more accurately- hot if you live in Arizona. Have you noticed the temperature inside of your house increasing with the weather? Well, there are some things that you can do to make your home more energy efficient by preventing the elements from entering your home. Using less energy will also save you some Green ($), while also reducing your carbon footprint.

• Get a programmable thermostat and use it wisely. If you already have one, set it higher when you know no one will be home and at night. If you have a large home, you can go one-step further by installing multi-zone heating/cooling and only alter the temperature for the parts of the home being occupied.

• Use a fan. You can make the temperature in the room feel about two degrees cooler. Just be sure to turn them off when you leave the room and don’t leave them on while you are at work for your pet. Fans do not work for animals because they don’t cool the skin the same. We sweat- animals pant.

• Purchase sunshades. Installing sunshades on East and West facing windows will have the largest impact on temperature control.

• Install awnings. Awnings can provide shade and help to keep your home cool from the sun.

• Upgrade your windows. Think about replacing your windows for multi-pane, Energy Star, low-E (emissivity) windows. Be sure to recycle the old ones by donating to an organization such as Habitat for Humanity.

• Schedule an energy audit. An energy audit will produce a HERS (Home Energy Rating System) score. This is one of the best non-biased indicators of how Green and energy efficient a home is. An audit can show you exactly where your home is susceptible to the outdoor elements with an IR camera. The auditor will check your insulation, windows, doors, heating and cooling system, and air ducts to look for energy loss. Even better, there are $75 to $175 in rebates from APS to have this done. The cost is $250 for one A/C unit and $500 for two A/C units. Contact me to set one up.

Finally, If you do upgrade the windows, install sunshades, have multi-zone heating and cooling or have a HERS score, they are all newly searchable “energy efficient/green” features on the MLS and can help increase the resale value of your home.