A massive heatwave is set to engulf most of the country starting this weekend, and everyone will be focused on staying cool, especially at home.
Adam Helfman, who hosts his radio show and podcast called “Hire it Done,” knows a thing or two about home repairs, and he has a few tips to help keep your home cool during any heatwave.
No. 1: Close your blinds.
“It becomes another barrier for the heat to take longer to get into your house. And if you have air conditioning inside your house, it keeps the air cooler longer. So absolutely, keep these shut – especially during the day.”
No. 2: If you have a ceiling fan, switch it to run in reverse, which brings down cooler air.
“In the wintertime, I tell homeowners, have it so it draws the air up, but in the summertime, we want it to push the air down. When you have air moving over your skin, it feels 4 to 6 degrees cooler.
Most people don’t like it when it’s 80 degrees in the house, but if you have the fan on, it could be 74 to 76 on the feel. And that’s important because it allows you to survive, or it’s not impressive."
No. 3: Take your Thermostat’s fan off of “Automatic”
“When the fan is set to ‘On,’ it’s circulating the air all the time. And what it’s also doing is it’s cleaning your air, so you make sure you have a clean air filter because the air inside your home, believe it or not, is 5 to 10 times dirtier than the outside air.”
He also suggests changing those filters every 30 days.
No. 4: Use your appliances, such as ovens and dryers, at night
“If you do it during the day, not only do you use more energy, but the heat that comes off of them will add to the heat in the house, so I would recommend doing all that in the evening.”
