A good home ventilation system can greatly reduce or even eliminate your reliance on an air conditioner for cooling in your Portland home. This can dramatically lower utility bills. Here are three home ventilation options to consider to help keep your home cool without spending too much.
Natural Ventilation
By opening windows in your home during the cooler morning and evening hours, you can let the wind naturally cool your home. Open windows on the shady side of your home to draw in cool air and open windows on the opposite side to create a cross-breeze. In homes with multiple stories, open windows on each floor, allowing hot air to rise and exit out of the upper windows while cooler air is naturally drawn in from the lower windows to replace it. Close the windows during the heat of the day to retain the cool air.
Ceiling and Portable Fans
In combination with natural ventilation or even with air conditioning, fans can help you feel cooler at the same temperature. Install ceiling fans in common areas such as the living room, and use portable fans for individual cooling. To improve natural ventilation, use box fans in windows on the opposite sides of your home, with one exhausting air and one drawing air in, which will create a stronger cross-breeze. Because fans make you feel cooler by drawing away perspiration, not by actually cooling the air, you should turn off fans when you leave the room to save energy.
Whole-House Fans
Whole-house fans are typically installed in the floor of the attic and through the ceiling below, allowing them to draw hot air out of the home and exhaust it through the attic vents. Cool air is then drawn in through open windows to replace the exhausted air. Whole-house fans move large volumes of air and can sometimes replace an air conditioner in cooler areas while using less than 25 percent of the energy.
For more information about home ventilation options, talk to our HVAC experts at Roth Heating and Cooling. We proudly serve the Portland area.
