Keep Your Attic Cool

One of the easiest ways for your home to get really hot is to let air from the outside get into your home. Why would you let hot, summer air into your nice, cool, air conditioned home? Well it's not always on purpose...or things that you would automatically think of. Things to be aware of: * If you keep your garage door open - you are letting your home get hotter than it needs to be. Most garages, especially those built a while ago are not properly "sealed." Depending on the age, some of them might not even be insulated. This is a problem, because of course it's going to be very hot in the garage and once you let that heat in, it's adding to the heat inside your home - making your house harder to cool off. * Your attic can be very hot. That hot air can make your home considerably warmer. How can we solve this? One way is to make sure that there is air moving through the attic. (If air is stagnant it in effect bakes and becomes hotter, if air is moving it doesn't get AS hot - it's still important to have insulation though.) Source: http://www.askthebuilder.com/B236_Ventilation_-_Keeping_Home_Attic_Cool_Naturally.shtml

"If you air condition your home, the last thing you want is air conditioned air finding its way into your attic and out the vents! This is why powered attic ventilation can be harmful to your pocketbook."

Your unit has to work much harder to cool a home that has been baking in the sun all day. It is much easier to keep your home cool if it stays that way. The longer your unit is on, the more money it is going to cost on your energy bills. If you can keep the air on for shorter periods of time, you will save money. Better yet, if you can use the programmable thermostat, you can save up to $180 a year.