Keeping your home cool is no easy task, but it gets even harder
if you have an older home.
Keeping your home cool is no easy task, but it gets even harder if you have an older home.
Older homes often have attics that were actually used for storage. Now the attic has become a relic of the past. Newer homes are usually built with insulation, eliminating the storage space and the soaring temperatures that accompanied the extra space. It was not uncommon to have the attic heat up more than 100 degrees in the summer after the hot air became trapped.
In general, older homes tended to be less energy efficient. Rooms often had high ceilings. And as a result, keeping them cool was difficult.
The trick to keeping these areas cool is to keep the air circulating through them. Fans can blow the air down from the ceiling, and vents and installation can be installed in the attic, according to The Dollar Stretcher (www.stretcher.com).
But the best way to keep a home cool is to use a little common sense, such as closing the blinds and keeping the house closed during the day. The Web site Care2.com offers several other simple suggestions for keeping your home cool.
Although usually associated with newer houses, central air conditioning is a viable option for older homes as well, according to a tutorial by This Old House (www.thisoldhouse.com). The cost may be a lot more, however, because vents will have to be installed.
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