Cool it, baby!

Sure it’s hot. But you can stay cool without going postal with the AC. Here are some tips from, among other sources, Direct Energy  and Treehugger,  which recently had a terrific special edition on green ways to beat the heat.

Install a ceiling fan. I am such a, um, fan of these. Moving air throughout a room automatically makes you feel cooler. Don’t forget that fan blades should move the air downwards in the summer and upwards in the winter. And if it’s superhot at night in the bedroom, rinse your top sheet in cool water, wring it out and lay it on top of you. Just don’t tell your Mom that you do because, if she’s like mine, she’ll insist that that by doing so “you’ll catch your death of cold”.

Add awnings above south facing windows in your home to reduce solar gain.

Plant a vine or climber at your home. According to an article by Lloyd Alter on Planet Green, climbers can reduce the maximum temperatures of a building by shading walls from the sun, the daily temperature fluctuation being reduced by as much as 50 per cent.

Check the SEER (Seasonal energy efficiency ratio) rating on your air conditioning unit. A 13 SEER rating can deliver as much as 28 per cent more efficiency than that of an older, 10 SEER air conditioner.

If you want to find other ways to make your home more energy efficient in summer and winter, book a home energy assessment with a company like GreenSaver.