Tips for Keeping Your Home Cool in a Heat Wave and all Summer Long

Is the record-breaking heat this week making you think about adding insulation to your house? Maybe it should, says Gwendal Castellan, a Certified Energy Advisor working with City Green Solutions. "Just like a thermos, a well sealed and insulated building can not only keep the heat in during the winter but can also help you keep your cool during a heat wave."

Energy-efficient design makes a big difference to the comfort of a home in every season. For instance, the orientation and size of windows drastically affects how hot a home will get in the summer. Although window orientation isn’t something you can change once a home is built, choosing the most energy efficient window models, installing shutters or awnings and planting deciduous trees to provide shade can make your home much cooler in the summer. “Most people keep the curtains closed on hot days to keep the heat out, which helps a little, but still allows most of the heat in. It’s much more effective to block the sun’s heat before it gets through your windows,” explains Castellan.

“It’s also important to check whether your attic vents are working properly. When vents are blocked by insulation, dirt, or debris, attic temperatures can reach 60°C or 70°C, making it very hard to keep the rest of your house cool,” explains Castellan. “Check with your roofing contractor to make sure you have the right ventilation balance in the attic to avoid overheating in the summer, and to avoid heat loss and moisture problems in the winter.”

If you are using an air conditioner, the energy efficient choice is a properly-sized ENERGY STAR ® air conditioner on a programmable thermostat. However, you can get comparable relief from the heat with a fan, and use less than a tenth of the energy. “Given the problems we’ve seen with power outages across the country during heat waves, I hope that people in BC will choose energy-efficient solutions for keeping cool,” says Castellan.

If you are considering home improvements to keep your home cooler in the summer, there are grants available through the LiveSmart BC program for insulation, draft proofing, ENERGY STAR® windows, and efficient heating and cooling systems. To access grants, book a home energy assessment with an Energy Advisor. Energy Advisors are certified by the federal government to provide expert, independent energy efficiency advice and a customized retrofit plan for saving energy in your home. City Green Solutions, a non-profit energy efficiency organization, can connect you with an Energy Advisor. Call 1.866.381.9995 or visit www.citygreen.ca for more information.

If you aren’t ready to renovate, there are plenty of low-to-no-cost solutions that can help you keep your cool. Opening your windows at night, then closing them in the morning to keep the cool air in is an energy-efficient way to avoid overheating. Closing your fireplace damper and adding caulking and weatherstripping to doors, windows, and attic hatches can also help keep the hot air out, Castellan advises.

If your home is hot, creating a breeze will help you feel more comfortable. Open windows on either side of your home to create a cross breeze. If you have more than one storey, you can move hot air up and out by opening windows and doors in your bottom floor and turning on upstairs bathroom fans or positioning a fan in an upstairs window. You can also help move air around by using ceiling fans or even your furnace on ‘fan mode’. If you have the option, consider sleeping in the cooler air of the basement.

To keep cool and save money on your energy bills, avoid making unnecessary heat by turning off appliances like TVs and computers when not in use, and turning off lights, especially heat-generating incandescent lights, when you don’t need them, Castellan suggests. Consider eating salads or other cold food as the stove and oven can really heat up your home. Hang your laundry to dry instead of running a clothes dryer on a hot day. Clotheslines are a great way to dry clothing efficiently and they leave clothes smelling fresh. And don’t forget to get outside and enjoy the heat while it lasts!

###

Media Contacts:

Peter Sundberg
Executive Director, City Green Solutions
250.381.9995 x. 102
manager@citygreen.ca


Gwendal Castellan
Certified Energy Advisor working with City Green Solutions
604.787.9577
gcastellan@gmail.com