Reduce A/C Costs With Solar Shades

As the A/C blasts away at the oppressive heat of summer, your power bills fly through the roof. It seems like you’re left with two choices: turn it down and sweat, or leave it at a comfortable level and break the bank. Solar shades provide one attractive option to stay cool and keep money in your pocket.

What Are Solar Shades?

Solar shades are window coverings that are designed to block UV radiation from entering a home, along with most of the heat from direct sunlight. Though lightweight compared to traditional insulated window covering panels, the solar shade offers a marked reduction in heat transfer throughout the year.

What Do They Look Like?

Unlike solid and often dark blackout curtains or insulated panels, solar shades bring an airy feeling to a room because natural light can still enter. In fact, some solar shade designs allow a perfectly unobstructed view of the outdoors while keeping your home comfort costs down. They are available in a wide range of neutral colors and chic, modern designs.

How Will They Benefit My Home?

For a solution that costs relatively little, solar shades offer a lot of different benefits aside from lower energy bills. These include:

• Reduced damage from UV rays inside the house. From faded upholstery to a higher risk of skin cancer, excessive UV is bad news in your interior spaces.

• Fewer “hot spots” throughout your home. Ever had the thermometer show a perfect indoor temperature, yet you’re still uncomfortably warm? That’s often caused by weak points in your home’s insulation – usually inefficient windows – that allow the outdoor heat to seep in.

• Lower A/C maintenance costs. The less you run your air conditioning unit, the less seasonal maintenance it requires.

• Less glare on interior surfaces. Direct sunlight bounces off of TV screens, mirrors, glass, and other reflective surfaces, causing painfully bright spots. Solar shades reduce eye strain and discomfort by preventing too-bright light from entering your home.

For more information on solar shades and other ways to reduce cooling costs in your Broken Arrow home, contact us at Air Assurance.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). Credit/Copyright Attribution: “OpenClipart-Vectors_pixabay”

Summer Heat Gain and How It Wrecks Your Cooling Efforts

Broken Arrow's scorching summer heat requires heavy use of air conditioning to keep you comfortable. As a result, your cooling bills are probably much higher than you'd like. Preventing heat gain is a major factor when it comes to decreasing the cooling load of your system. Heat gain refers to anything that heats up your rooms in the summer, such as heat-generating appliances, air leaks, and solar energy that strikes your home's exterior.Heat gain increases the cooling load of your air conditioning system, which must then run overtime to keep you comfortable. This leads to more wear on your heat pump or A/C and increases your energy bills. Combating summertime heat gain is essential for comfort, optimum system performance and lowering your cooling costs. Here are some ways to beat the extra heat that infiltrates your home when temperatures soar.Treat WindowsInstall awnings over windows that are exposed to direct sunlight to help shade them from the sun's energy. Plant bushes or trees in front of them to further decrease the warming effects of sunlight. Keep your interior window shades closed during the day.Paint the ExteriorDark home exteriors absorb more heat than light colors. When you're ready to paint, choose lighter pastels to reflect more sunlight and keep your rooms cooler.Shore Up InsulationInsulation in your attic blocks heat from entering your home and helps keep your rooms cooler. You should have 15 inches of R-38 insulation in your attic, as well as adequate ventilation to control the temperatures in your home.Seal Air LeaksKeep warm air out of your home. Use caulk and weatherstripping to seal cracks and gaps around doors and windows, service entrances, and pipes that penetrate exterior walls.Use Appliances WiselyAvoid using heat-generating appliances like your stove and clothes dryer when the sun is beating down on your home. Instead, do your cooking and cleaning early in the morning or later in the evening.For more advice about combating heat gain, please feel free to contact us in the Broken Arrow area at Air Assurance Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing.Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). Credit/Copyright Attribution: “Jane Kelly/Shutterstock”