How to cool it without cranking it
There are more ways than you think to keep your home comfortable on those especially hot summer days
Just a few short weeks ago, many Canadians were vehemently insisting that after a cold and dreary winter they wouldn’t dream of complaining about the heat. That their resolution has melted like bubble gum on hot pavement is understandable: when it gets too steamy, we all want to cool down.
For increasing numbers of homeowners, the urge to turn on the air conditioner will be matched by a desire to keep energy costs low, and ecological footprints small. Fortunately, there are lots of simple ways to reduce energy use and air conditioning costs, according to Toronto Hydro.
Regular maintenance of an air conditioner, for example, increases its efficiency by about five per cent, while those installed in a shaded area will consume five per cent less energy than those in direct sunlight.
Raising the temperature to 25 C for eight hours a day, and then shifting to 22 C during off-peak hours, can save some $18 a month.
When away from home, the air conditioner should be turned off, but ventilation fans kept running to circulate the cool air. Vents to rooms not being used should be shut.
Simple fixes, such as drawing blinds and shades on south- and west-facing windows can reduce costs by up to $14.40 a month, according to Toronto Hydro.
Fans can help too. Setting the temperature 5 C higher and using an Energy Star qualified ceiling fan can trim cooling costs by up to 30 per cent.
New floor fan technologies also improve air quality. Dyson’s Pure Cool Link purifier fan, for example, has a glass HEPA filter that removes 99.9 per cent of pollutants and allergens as small as 0.3 microns from the air. Homeowners can remotely monitor the inside air quality through an app that lets them adjust settings.
Remote controls are also being added to roof windows. These help keep homes cooler because of the “stack effect,” that sees warm, moist air rise and exit, and be replaced with cooler air at lower levels.
While not an air conditioner, a new energy-efficient evaporative cooling system from Honeywell cools up to 78 square metres of outdoor space, making it a suitable for a sun-soaked balcony or overheated patio.
It works like this: Water from a refillable tank runs over a honeycomb structure. As warm air passes over it, heat is absorbed, cooling the air, which is then circulated through a fan. The unit can also be hooked up to a hose for a continuous supply of water.
While well-designed, it’s not particularly beautiful, which may be why Honeywell enlisted Canadian artist Billy Franklin to decorate a unit with a summery design.
The right landscaping can also reduce cooling costs by between 15 and 20 per cent, according to LEAF, a not-for-profit organization that works to protect and improve the urban forest.
They offer lots of suggestions, including planting evergreen trees, shrubs and vines at least 30 cm away from a home’s exterior walls to create dead air space that insulates in both winter and summer, and planting ground covers and shrubs to cool the air before it hits the home.
Also worth noting: deciduous trees let in sunlight during the winter but block up to 90 per cent of it in the summer while letting cooling breezes through. That makes them especially effective on south- and westfacing sides.
For more site-specific advice, LEAF offers a backyard planting service to city of Toronto residents, who pay between $150 and $220 per tree. That includes a site consultation with an arborist, delivery and planting.
The full value of the service — about $300 to $400 — is supported by such partners as Ontario Power Generation and Toronto Hydro.