It’s logical, if you have a home in Lubbock or one of the surrounding communities, that you’d like to keep your home as comfortable as possible during our long and hot summers, and do so as efficiently as possible.
After all, no only do we have to contend with high heat, but sweltering humidity too. This can make for an uncomfortable environment without the right home comfort systems in place!
And even when you do have the right home comfort systems, you’ll want to ensure that you’re using them as you should. We mean, you want to make sure you’re using them in a way that doesn’t waste energy. Read on as we cover some cooling tips for 2-story homes!
Consider an Upgrade to Your Portable AC Units
Are you still utilizing portable AC systems in your household? You’ve likely found that you have to pay quite a lot to use these, right? Still, however, they can be effective, at least until your budget allows you to spring for the installation of a central air conditioner. At this point, an upgrade is always worth it.
Let’s say you aren’t quite there yet–is there any way you can use a portable AC unit more efficiently? Yup! Do you have a guest room, or some other room in your household that doesn’t get used every day? Close the door and don’t use that portable air conditioner! Otherwise, you’re just wasting energy.
As an alternative, if you don’t have a lot of square footage in your household–let’s say for example your entire upstairs is 500 sq. feet–then this is usually enough for a single portable system to manage efficiently. You don’t need one in each small bedroom upstairs in this case.
Upgrade Your Thermostat
Even switching from a basic, manual, thermostat to a programmable one can make a huge difference in your energy usage. The older thermostats aren’t accurate when it comes to temperature settings, which means you can wind up forcing your air conditioner to run longer than you actually should need it to, to cool down your home efficiently.
Wi-Fi and Smart thermostats essentially learn from your cooling and heating preferences, and adjust accordingly, allowing for efficient HVAC use.
Ventilate Your Attic!
As you know, heat rises. This means that naturally, if you have a 2-story home, heat will get trapped upstairs unless it has somewhere to go. At the very least, it’s a good idea to have the attic ventilated. Without proper ventilation, the temperature of your roof can double when the outdoor temperature is, and with nowhere to escape, this heat will just stay in the home, no matter how long your run your air conditioner or how low you set the temperature.
Consider taking this up even a notch further and having an attic fan installed. This helps pull excess heat up and out of your home so that your air conditioner can do its job to the best of its ability while lowering your cooling bills.
For professional AC installation in Lubbock, TX and more, look no further than JD’s Prompt Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning. Contact us today!