Although it’s much easier to efficiently cool a small residence than a large home, some apartments are more amenable to cooling efforts than others. So, if you’ve traditionally had trouble staying cool in your apartment throughout the summer months, there’s no time like the present to nip this problem in the bud. With another record-breaking summer on the way, finding effective ways to keep the heat out of your apartment should be among your top priorities. As you’ll find, the answer to your cooling woes may lie in correcting certain behaviors.
You’re Letting Too Much Sun In
There’s no denying that the sun can serve as a fantastic source of natural lighting. However, this convenience can come at a cost during the sweltering summer months. The more sunlight is let in through the windows, the warmer your living space is likely to become. Fortunately, nipping this problem in the bud couldn’t be easier.
Outfitting your apartment’s windows with thermal blackout curtains will serve you well on a number of fronts. For starters, the thick thermal materials of which these curtains are composed will serve to minimize the amount of sunlight that finds its way inside. Needless to say, this can prove particularly helpful during the sun’s peak hours. Secondly, thermal blackout curtains can help minimize how much cool escapes and how much warm air enters through your windows. By the same token, these curtains can come in handy during the winter months, when they’ll help minimize how much warm air is able to escape and how much cool air is able to gain entrance to your apartment.
Thermal blackout curtains can also help enhance your summertime sleep quality. For example, if you have trouble sleeping outside of total darkness, the early-rising summer sun is likely to adversely impact your overall quality of slumber. However, by equipping your bedroom windows with thermal blackout curtains, you can ensure that your sleeping space remains comfortably dark, regardless of the time of day.
You’re Not Making Proper Use of Your Ceiling Fans
Dependable ceiling fans can be an absolute boon to your summertime cooling efforts. For one thing, if your apartment has air conditioning, ceiling fans can help circulate the air it produces throughout the whole residence. Secondly, if you wish to use ceiling fans in place of A/C, simply adjust their blades to spin counterclockwise, as this will enable them to produce a refreshingly cool breeze that flows directly downward.
If the ceiling fans in your apartment are in desperate need of replacement, don’t hesitate to reach out to your landlord. After all, there’s a good chance that as the property owner, the task of replacing faulty and nonfunctional ceiling fans falls directly to them. Conversely, if you own your apartment, the responsibility of replacing ceiling fans may be yours and yours alone.
Fortunately, even if this is the case, you should have no problem finding affordable fans that are perfectly suited to your needs and living space. Whether you’re shopping for flush mount ceiling fans, dual motor ceiling fans or any other type of ceiling fan, such purchases are unlikely to place a strain on your time or finances.
You’re Using Your Oven Too Much
Since ovens play an important role in the preparation and creation of countless dishes, it’s easy to see why not having access to one would fill culinary enthusiasts with a sense of trepidation. However, it can’t be denied that using an oven in a small living space stands to make things uncomfortably warm, especially over the summer. So, if at all possible, try to limit oven usage throughout the summer months. Fortunately, with such an extensive variety of no-cook summer recipes readily available on the web, this is unlikely to prove as inconvenient as you may think.
Few places are less comfortable than an insufficiently cool living space during the summer months. Luckily, those of us who reside in apartments tend to have an easier time cooling off than people who live in large homes. After all, the less living space we have, the less space we need to cool. Additionally, if you’re having trouble keeping your apartment nice and cool, there’s a good chance that certain behaviors on your end are to blame.
