An example of a beautiful southern Victorian home in Georgia.
If you own or live in a 2-story home anywhere in Georgia, then it’s no secret that you’d like to do everything possible to keep it cool, efficiently, right? After all, not only are we dealing with high heat here, but also sweltering humidity. This can make for a very uncomfortable environment–particularly without the right HVAC and indoor air quality systems in place.
Even if you do have the right systems in place, you want to make sure you’re using them properly. We mean that you should be using them so that it doesn’t waste electricity and subsequently waste money. Keep reading as we uncover some tips to cool your 2-story home as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible.Got Portable Systems? Upgrade Them!
Are you still utilizing portable air conditioners in the various rooms of your house? Chances are, you already know that this isn’t the most efficient way to keep your Georgia home cool at a low cost. Still, however, portable systems can be effective and are a great option if you don’t have a budget that allows for an upgrade to a new centralized system right away. But when your budget does allow for this, the upgrade is worth it. But what if you haven’t reached the point yet that you’re ready to make the investment in a central air conditioner? Is there anything you can do to use your portable air conditioners more efficiently?
Yes!
First off, you can’t expect one portable system to be able to cool an entire floor of your home. If you try to use it in this way, it will just keep running, trying to reach the desired temperature you set on its thermostat, but will be unable to do so. It’s best to have a portable system in each room of the home that has a window. What if you have unoccupied rooms? Then you can close the door to those rooms and shut off the portable systems. The key here is to balance the air conditioning correctly, setting your upstairs systems a little lower than your downstairs systems–after all, heat rises–and making sure the air conditioning is evenly distributed.
Ventilate Your Attic
As we just mentioned, heat rises! This means that if you have a 2-story home, heat will get trapped upstairs unless it has somewhere to go. At the very least, it’s a good idea to have your attic ventilated. Without proper ventilation, the temperature of your roof can be double (or higher) what the temperature is outside–and that heat will just stay in your home, no matter how much you run your air conditioner. Consider taking an additional step and having an attic fan installed. This helps pull excess heat up and out of your living space so that your air conditioner can do its job to the best of its ability, while lowering your cooling bills.
Upgrading to a central air conditioner, if you don’t already have one, and ventilating your attic are just a couple of ways to cool a 2 story home more efficiently. Ask us about ductless cooling systems and how they help improve comfort and efficiency in larger homes, too!
Contact HendrixAir, Inc. for professional Brunswick, GA air conditioning services.