Keeping Apartment Complexes Cool on Hot Summer Days
The arrival of the summer season means the days are only going to be getting hotter. Before it gets too hot outside, you should take the time to prep your apartment for another summer season. By taking the proper precautions, you can keep your apartment rentals cool and save money on your next bill.
Use the following tips to beat the heat and keep your energy bills down during the summer season.
Inspect the Air Conditioner
The most important thing you can do is test out the air conditioning unit in your apartment. Turn it on and give it a few test runs to make sure everything is working properly. If anything seems off, or if you hear any strange sounds, contact your maintenance team to have a look at the air conditioner.
By doing this inspection as soon as possible, you’ll ensure that your cooling system is ready to go before it gets too hot. You do not want to find the first problems with your air conditioning when it’s over 80 degrees outside.
Clean Out Your Vents
Another important task is to clean out the vents around your apartment. Have you noticed a buildup of dust and pollen around your air vents? These particles may have built up during the spring season, and when air filters get clogged problems start to happen. Most notably the cold air gets cut off, making it harder for the A/C system to cool your unit.
To clean the vents yourself, grab a screwdriver to unscrew the covers of the vents. From there, use a vacuum cleaner to suck up the dust carefully.
If you’re worried about making a mistake, you can always call maintenance to schedule an appointment. A technician can come down to help you clean out the vents properly so the cool air can get through. The sooner you do this, the better.
Keep The Blinds Down for Insulation
On particularly hot days it’s beneficial to keep your window blinds down and closed. Sunlight is full of energy that can generate a lot of extra heat. By leaving your windows open, you’re letting that heat get into your apartment, which will raise the temperature exponentially.
Make it a habit to pull down the blinds on sunny days so the sunlight doesn’t get through the windows. This helps insulate your apartment, keeping the temperature down. With the interior not being heated up so much, you won’t have to bump up the A/C to cool things down.
Think About Using The Oven Less
The oven range is one of the biggest culprits of excess heat in apartments. Every time you open the oven to cook a hot meal, hot air escapes into the apartment, raising the temperature inside. If you want to keep your apartment from getting too hot in the summer, you should try using the oven less.
Try having more meals where you don’t have to cook anything, like salads and sandwiches. You can also order out and have meals delivered to your apartment so you don’t have to cook anything yourself. If you do want to use your oven, try doing it later at night when the air is a little bit cooler.
Stock Up On Ice & Cool Down
One additional thing to do is make sure you have plenty of ice in your apartment. Ice can be used in several ways to keep you and your apartment cool during the summer. If you don’t have enough ice in your freezer, go to the store for a quick resupply.
Serve ice with any drinks you have so you can keep your body cool and refreshed. You can also put a rag in some ice-cold water and put it on your forehead when there’s a heat wave going on.
A more creative way to cool down your apartment involves getting a bucket of ice and a portable fan. By placing the ice in front of the fan, you can blow cold air all around your apartment. This will help you keep the inside temperatures down, allowing you to turn off the air conditioning for a bit.
Many of these tactics will help reduce energy consumption in your apartment, which will help reduce your energy bills. By making your apartment more eco-friendly, you can reduce those costs even more.