Besides relying on your cooling system exclusively this summer for comfort, you should consider fans as well. Summers get pretty hot in the Fresno area, and a fan can make the inside of your home feel cooler, whisk heat and humidity outside, and even make your attic cooler. A fan is one of the least expensive appliances to operate, and a variety of models are available for spot ventilation in your kitchen or bathroom, for attic ventilation, and for your living spaces.
Spot ventilation
Removing odors, heat and humidity is easy when your home has a fan in each bathroom and one in the kitchen. In the summer, the bathroom fan can pull the moisture from showering out quickly, decreasing your cooling load. The fan over the stove removes heat and humidity from cooking and baking, along with odors. Although a fan doesn’t use much electricity, it is capable of pulling conditioned air from your home quickly, so using it judiciously during the summer will keep more cooled air indoors.
Ceiling fan
Moving air feels cooler because it accelerates the evaporation of moisture on your skin. A ceiling fan is not only an effective way to make your indoor air feel cooler, it can enhance your interior decoration. Many newer homes have been prewired and braced to hold the weight of the fan. If you have a place where you’d like to install one but it’s not blocked or wired, hiring an electrician to install it could be your safest option. A ceiling fan in an occupied room will make the air feel three or four degrees cooler, allowing you to turn up the thermostat and save on A/C costs.
Attic ventilation
Your attic reaches extremely hot temperatures during the summer, and installing an attic fan will pull cooler air in and push hotter air out. It’s an effective way to keep this space cooler, which prolongs the life of your roof. Collected heat in your attic can seep through your ceiling into your home, increasing your cooling load. Solar-powered or standard attic fans use little electricity, but provide big payoffs.
To learn more about using fans for increased comfort and lower energy bills, please contact us at Donald P. Dick Air Conditioning. We’ve provided reliable HVAC services for the Fresno area for more than 40 years.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in the greater Fresno, California area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about fans and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
Image courtesy of Shutterstock