Investing a little of your time and money goes a long way toward preventing summer heat gain. Improvements such as adding insulation, sealing air leaks and upgrading or weather-proofing your windows will reduce your conditioning costs in both the short and long term.
Insulation
The minimum amount of insulation in the attic should be 16 inches to slow heat transfer summer and winter. The easiest and most affordable types to install are fiberglass batt or blown-in. Most home improvement centers have the blowers if you choose loose fill, or a contractor can do the job for you.
Air leaks
Air infiltration can increase the cooling load, forcing your A/C to work harder. Professional energy auditors or HVAC contractors can conduct an energy evaluation of your home that will show you where air and energy are leaking, or you can conduct your own by:
- Closing all the windows and exterior doors
- Making a simple drawing of your home
- Turn on the ventilating fans in your bathrooms and kitchen
- Light a stick of incense or a taper candle
- Walk along the inside walls of your home’s outer envelope and note on the drawing where the smoke wavers. Do the same with the ceiling below the attic.
The wavering smoke indicates air infiltration. The fans create negative pressure inside your home and pull the air from the outside wherever there are cracks in your home’s envelope. Pay special attention to windows, exterior door frames, the sill plate around your home’s foundation, around the seam between your roof and the walls, and your attic hatch.
Windows
Unless you have Energy Star or thermal windows, prevent summer heat gain by addressing the windows that lie on the east, south and west side of your home. A permanent solution is to install reflective solar film on these windows, which also helps retain heat in the winter, or simply close the drapes when it’s hot outside. Your landscaping can go a long way toward shielding your home from the heat, especially if you use deciduous trees and shrubs.
For more information about preventing summer heat gain and lowering cooling costs this summer, please contact us at Marsh Heating & Air Conditioning. We’ve provided reliable HVAC services for the Twin Cities area since 1974.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about summer heat gain and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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