When the Florida sun is glaring down and temperatures outside are rising, you’re likely to do anything you can to stay out of the heat. Sure, you could blast the AC all day. But no one wants to get to the end of summer and face a bunch of HVAC maintenance and a hefty electricity bill. Instead, try some of our tested and common-sense ways to keep your house cool in the summer.

1. Only use your appliances at night

Not using the oven throughout the day is a rather obvious way to keep the heat down, but there are other appliances that pump out hot air, too. Washing machines, dryers and dishwashers… they all give off way more heat than most of us realize! Keeping these appliances off during the day and doing the chores at night means you save a few degrees of heat and a few dollars in electricity (electricity is cheaper at night, after all).

2. Maximize your use of drapes

Window drapes are an excellent way of keeping sunlight out of a room. But you shouldn’t just close the drapes in the room that you are in. If you’re expecting a hot day and want to keep temperatures as low as possible throughout the house, close drapes in any rooms you’re not using. Some drapes (white plastic-backed, especially) can reduce up to 33% of heat gains!

3. Keep the doors open throughout the house

Keep a house cool by maximizing the airflow. The simplest way to do this? Open doors throughout the house! If you use an air conditioner, keeping the doors open is actually a way to make your AC more efficient. Closing the doors when you’re running AC actually starves the machine of air, making it work harder (thus, less efficiently).

4. Open your windows for a set amount of time each night

The best time to open the windows is when darkness hits. Opening windows even for a couple of hours means you can remove the sticky air from inside the house and circulate fresh cool air from outside.

5. Improve heat resistant features outside

This tip involves much more work than the others, but it is worth it in the long run. Making your house more heat resistant on its exterior is, of course, an excellent way of reducing the temperature inside your house. The most eco-friendly way to do this is to plant trees and other shade-enhancing greenery around your house. You can also paint walls white to reflect the heat and add shutters to the windows to block out light.

Stay Cool on the Treasure Coast

We all know how tough these long Florida summers can be, so best of luck in implementing these tips in your own house! And if your home still isn’t as cool as you’d like it to be, it might be time for an HVAC service or inspection to help beat the heat. Contact the professionals at One Hour Air of Treasure Coast today!