How to Beat the Alabama Heat

If you’ve ever experienced an Alabama summer, you know the heat can be brutal! The past few weeks, the temperature has been 89 by 9 am with a heat index of 103. In temperatures like that, everyone is looking for a way to get out of the heat. The question for many homeowners is how do we keep our house cool without having to run the air conditioner 24/7. The obvious answers are to turn the air conditioning off when you’re not home or to keep the air set on a higher setting. What do you do if neither of those options sounds good to you? Here are 5 tips from Survival Life on how to keep your home cool even in the midst of an Alabama Summer!

Reduce the Amount of Light Entering Your House

Light obviously brings heat along with it and the last thing we want to do is capture all that heat. Install blinds or light-colored curtains will help keep the sun out and in turn, keep the room cooler.

Turn Lights Off When You’re Not Using Them

By the same logic, lights in your house generally put off some heat, probably a lot more than you thought. First, replace all your lightbulbs with those that put off less heat and then make sure to turn off the lights when you can. This not only reduces heat in your home but also reduces your electricity usage.

Open Windows at Both Ends of the House

If you’re the kind that likes to open the window and let some fresh air in, then make sure to open windows at both ends of the room or house. This creates more airflow and is known as cross-ventilation. You’d be surprised at the airflow you can achieve by doing this.

Set Your Ceiling Fans to Rotate Counter-Clockwise

You might not have known this, but you can set the direction that your fan blades turn. During the summer, set them to rotate counter-clockwise. By doing this, the fan will push the warmth to the ceiling instead of blowing it on you.

Make a DIY Air Conditioner

This is a tried and true method. Place a bowl of ice in front of a fan and you get a DIY air conditioner. It won’t be as cold as turning on your air conditioning, but it’ll do the trick and save you some money.

Summer in the south can be brutal but being in your beautiful, perfect house makes it a bit more bearable! If you’re looking for a new house to wait out the summer in, make sure to contact us at Method Mortgage and let us help you find the smartest way home.