Thank you so much to UHS Window Tinting and Blinds for sponsoring today’s post. All thoughts and opinions are genuine and my own.
HOT-lanta. We are in the middle of summer and Marietta would make Olaf…
a very happy Snowman.
Walking to get the mail could burn your feet off.
When I first moved to Los Angeles a lifetime ago, my first THREE homes did not have AC. My first apartment was a gorgeous 1930’s pizza oven. Seriously, I would shower and then immediately cry because it was too hot to get dressed or do my hair. There were MANY days that I sat in my car to enjoy the luxuries of AC. Or just simply to not melt.
I am no longer that human. I’m 32 and I need my environment to be around 76 degrees to not get immediately flustered. This thrills my husband when it’s 98 degrees (yes, I did that on purpose) outside. He would sweat it out to save a few bucks on the electric bill. He isn’t home all day with two kids. (Love you Jeff!)
Now that I’m a mom, **pro tip** I blame the kids… I have to keep the inside temperature comfortable year-round… FOR THE KIDS!
While it’s so nice to have a baby to blame, it’s expensive. When house hunting, I naively never thought of electric bill per square foot. #1stTimeHomeOwners
Luckily, we’ve figure out a few adjustments to make to our home that don’t over work the poor AC. Some of these we have already put into play and some are on the list of things that I’ve read up on – but all of the these things can help you save money on your electric bill in the long run.
If you are struggling with excessive electric bills and cool expectations try out a few of these home upgrades and let me know what you think!
1 || Get Shady || Landscaping
It’s not just a pretty tree. It’s an organic window covering cooling system. It’s OG. Landscaping is a great way to help you keep your home cooler, which in turn, reduces your sky-rocketing electric bill! Magical.
Anyone ever left a pack of crayons in the car in Florida and not parked in the shade during the summer? No? Just me? Ok. Well, think about it this way – when you park your car in the shade, it feels much better to get in that car vs. a car that has been in the hot sun all day. Same with your house and it’s black roof. If your home is in the shade, or even partially in the shade, it will naturally feel cooler.
Planting trees and adding bushes helps. Our window into the den is shaded by our front tree and it makes a huge difference. At one point we considered chopping that baby down because we are lazy and cheap and hate leaves… but the shade it provides is pretty amazing. Which now makes me think of The Giving Tree. And makes me cry a little. Trees are so kind.
Bonus: Well kept landscaping adds to curb appeal aka the value of your home goes up and future buyers will pay more for your home vs. a home with a naked yard.
**Lawn company not included, but also highly suggested.**
2 || Right Round || Ceiling Fans
I really should’ve counted the number of times in the last year and a half my mom has told me not to remove the ceiling fans in this house. Really would’ve made for a better into to this paragraph, but just know it’s a lot.
Naturally, I’ve removed two so far. But I’m kind and I will never remove the one in the guest room – just for her. In fact, I would like to replace the one in there and in my office with this one.
Using fans (ceiling fans and box fans) can reduce your electric bill significantly. According to Ceilingfan.com, “We spend billions of dollars every year on the electricity costs of air conditioning, accounting for up to 15% of the energy used in many homes and even representing up to 70% of the summer electric bill in warm climates. The energy cost of ceiling fans, on the other hand, is much different. Whereas a 2.5-ton central air conditioner uses about 3,500 watts and a window A/C unit typically uses between 500 to 1,500 watts, a ceiling fan uses only 15 to 95 watts depending on its size and speed.”
Remember This – Fans cool down people, not rooms So, there is no need to keep a ceiling fan on when you aren’t home. Turn off the fans as you turn off the lights.
3 || Shut The Door || Literally
This is a hard one can be with kids in the summer, or when you are having parties because people are constantly going in and out of the house, but if you try to really work on keeping the cool air in and the hot air out, it is an easy way to cut back on your AC usage. Remember your Grandpa saying, “You’re letting all the cold air out. What are you trying to AC the neighborhood?!” He was on to something.
I’ve always wanted one of those barn doors to the back yard so I can just leave it open and let the kids know when snacks are ready. But the longer I live as an adult, the farther away I feel from barn door air wasting and Pinterest worthy snacks.
4 || Tinted Love || Window Tinting
We did this to our car in The Bahamas and it was amazing. Now we are looking into doing it on a bigger scale for the house. Our master bathroom has this incredible peaked ceiling and half moon window and during the day you might die in there. The sun comes directly over our home and that window GETS IT during the day.
UHS Window Tinting and Blinds says, “Sunshine is wonderful stuff, but it’s your enemy when you want to stay cool in Atlanta, Georgia. Anything you can do to keep it from shining onto and into your house will help keep you cooler. That includes making your house and roof more reflective-reflective roof paint can make a sizable difference-and, especially, keeping sunlight from shining in through your windows. Why is the last so important? Sunlight is much more than visible light; it also contains ultraviolet (UV) radiation and infrared radiation (heat). Heat doesn’t travel through glass very quickly, but visible light and UV radiation do. And when they hit air molecules, or solid objects like your skin or the floor of your living room, a significant portion of their energy is converted to heat. This mini greenhouse effect is great when it’s cold outside, but not so good when it’s hot.”
3M™ Window Films help eliminate hot spots while preserving the view. They help reject the sun’s heat, compliment and protect your fancy curtains, artwork, furniture, and blinds, and of course, they help increase the comfort of your home and reduce high energy costs. Say that 10x fast.
Because of this, protecting the inside of your house by adding sunlight reflective roof paint (I did not know this was a thing previously), and also adding window films can be extremely helpful.
Even if you can’t do every window, do the main ones that get the most exposure. Like our master bathroom and our master bedroom. The rooms on the back of the house aren’t as bad but 2nd floor soaking in the sun can be brutal.
5 || Nerd Out || Get a Smart Thermostat
A smart thermostat such as Nest sounds AWESOME. Basically, they keep the house cool when you need it to be cool, but regulate it to save you some money. Like a kind friend who stands next to your thermostat all day and truly cares. Of course, you are not going to save thousands of dollars over the span of one summer, but it will work in your favor year-round. And over time those pennies add up.
I polled my Facebook tribe and the consensus is that everyone loves theirs. They are overall user friendly, easy to install, and you can even control them through your phone. If you are heading home from a vacation, you can adjust the temps to be ready for you when you walk in. All the yes. It makes me teary-eyed just thinking about it.
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