| If you are looking for a more inexpensive way | | | | and see how things feel inside the house. |
| to cool your home, you are not alone. In | | | | Always walk away from real estate decision if |
| order to truly realize your money saving | | | | someone is pressuring you to buy. |
| potential, we recommend you undertake the | | | | |
| following advice. | | | | 4. Cooling Checklist |
| | | | |
| 1. Do A Home Checkup | | | | - Pay attention to your energy meter when |
| | | | everything is shut off in your home. Look for |
| The overall costs of building a home can be | | | | discrepancies - it should read zero |
| daunting, but don't overlook investing extra | | | | |
| money into a cooling system. The quality of | | | | - Service your central air conditioning unit |
| your life can be substantially improved with | | | | yearly, |
| higher quality air, and the money you save | | | | |
| each month on your utility bills will more | | | | - Check the furnace or air conditioner filter |
| than pay for the extra effort you put forth | | | | each month, and clean or replace it as |
| many times over. | | | | needed. Dirty filters block air flow through |
| | | | your heating and cooling systems, increasing |
| 2. Purchasing A Home Cooling System | | | | your energy bill and shortening the |
| | | | equipment's life. |
| In general, it's not wise to skimp on your | | | | |
| home cooling system. You may think it's a | | | | - IA programmable thermostat can save you |
| hefty investment, but consider how this will | | | | thousands every year |
| affect the resale value of your home. Check | | | | |
| how old your furnace and central air | | | | - Clean out all air ducts |
| conditioning systems are... if they are quite | | | | |
| old then you should price out what it would | | | | - Use solar panels on top of your roof to |
| cost to install a system. New central air | | | | help power your most common appliances |
| conditioning systems are much more efficient | | | | |
| than their older predecessors. | | | | - Consider sleeping in your basement |
| | | | |
| 3. Bolstering Your Defence Against The | | | | - Keep your drapes and/or curtains shut to |
| Elements | | | | keep out the sunlight (sunlight increases the |
| | | | temperature of your home) |
| Older homes are generally the worst. Buying | | | | |
| an older home should not be done without a | | | | - Incandescent light bulbs are very outdated |
| thorough inspection first. Even then, you may | | | | now. Did you know that 95 percent of the |
| wish to come back on different occasions | | | | energy a light bulb used goes to heating the |
| throughout the month...come on a sunny day | | | | bulb. This adds extra heat to your home in |
| hot day and also come on a rainy or cool day | | | | the summer. |