Reduce Heat Gain in Your Home and Your AC will Thank You

Your central air conditioner’s primary foe is heat gain, with humidity coming in a close second. As more heat transfers from the outside into your home, or is generated within the home, your AC has to work harder to remove it.

The solution seems simple, doesn’t it? Reduce or eliminate sources of heat inside and outside your home, and it will be smooth sailing for your cooling system. This means less work, less consumption of energy, and less money you’re spending.

Try these tactics for reducing heat gain in your home during Cincinnati’s long cooling season:

Reduce air leaks

While modern home construction is a lot tighter than it used to be, your home’s outer envelope likely has a lot of entry points for warm air when it’s hot outside. If you have an older home that’s never been properly weatherized, it’s probably as leaky as Swiss cheese. (A leaky outer home envelope also creates other problems, foremost being an entryway for various creepy crawlies.)

To find where air is leaking, you can commission a professional energy analysis by one of Cincinnati’s best AC companies (which may also look at insulation and other factors), or you can conduct a basic audit yourself.

Take a smoke pencil or lighted candle and walk along the inside perimeter of your home on a windy day, passing the smoke or flame in front of likely spots for air leaks. These might be

• windows,
• doors,
• areas where building materials meet (sill plates, room additions, etc.) or places where
• utility wiring,
• vents or
• pipes

enter the home.

The smoke or flame will waver when it passes in front of a place where air is entering the home.

Use caulk, spray foam or weather-stripping to seal these holes or gaps in your home’s outer envelope. The material will depend on the type, location and size of the air leak. The good news is that sealing air leaks not only reduces heat gain in the summer; it reduces heat loss in the winter as well!

Upgrade insulation

A substantial amount of heat energy can transfer through the walls, foundation and roofing of a home unless they’re properly insulated. Any of your city’s top heating companies can counsel you on the right type and amount of insulation for different parts of your home.

Upgrading insulation also will reduce heat loss in the wintertime.

Don’t forget your windows

Studies have shown that almost half the heat gain in a typical home comes through windows. If you’ve ever stood in front of a closed sliding door on a sunny afternoon, facing the sun, you know how much solar energy can transfer through that glass and warm up the inside air.

To avoid this sort of heat gain, install Low-E windows and window coverings that block solar energy. These can be opaque drapes, curtains, shutters or whatever. Don’t skimp on weather-stripping with older window frames.

You can take simpler actions to reduce heat gain, too, such as closing curtains and other window coverings to the sun on hot days.

Reduce heat gain indoors

Reduce activities that generate heat on especially warm days:

1. Cook outside or use the microwave rather than using the stove or oven.
2. Dry your clothes in the morning before the day starts heating up.
3. Avoid taking hot showers.

You’ll find that reducing heat gain will not only save on energy costs; it will place less stress on your cooling system, allowing it to last longer and have fewer breakdowns.

A significant reduction in heat gain over time will allow you to spend less money when the time comes to upgrade your cooling system. With a house that’s easier to cool (and heat), you can get by with a smaller HVAC system.

And as mentioned earlier in this blog, nearly all of these strategies pay energy-saving dividends during the heating season. (For the window suggestion, instead of closing curtains and drapes to the sun, open them up on sunny winter days.)