How to Keep Cool in Summer without Over-straining Your AC

A summer in Chicago can be a tough haul, even for a home with a powerful air conditioning system. If you’re looking for ways to stay cool this season while also giving you air conditioner a bit of break, we have some suggestions for you:

Invest in a dehumidifier

This is one the best ways to reduce the sweltering summer heat and give the air conditioner a rest. The humid conditions inside a home that can raise relative humidity above 60% will make it harder for the human body to release heat through sweating. A professionally installed whole-house dehumidifier can make the temperature feel 8° to 10° cooler—and that usually means you can shut off the AC.

Make the change to LED lights

You want to use as little lighting as possible during the day to avoid the extra heat. But an even better idea is to update to LED lights. These lights put out almost no heat at all. Better still, they consume a fraction of the power of incandescent lights and can last 8 to 11 times longer.

Hang a wet sheet over a window

Now here is a very low-tech way to keep cool. In fact, the ancient Egyptians were using this trick long before anybody figured out the electro-mechanical air conditioner (or electrical anything!). Placing a wet sheet over an open window means a much cooler breeze blowing into a house, and it works fast.

Keep your body cooled down

A large part of staying cool during hot weather isn’t about making the air around your body cooler, but seeing that your body stays cooler. One way to do this is to stay properly hydrated: drink plenty of cool drinks, and keep the refrigerator well-stocked with ice cubes. A luke-warm shower is another helpful way to stay cool, lowering your body temperature and eliminating the sweat that makes it harder to get rid of heat.

Brilliant Home Services has provided excellent service to Chicago, IL and all of Chicagoland since 1956.