How to Keep Your Vacation Home Cool
Now that it is officially the summer season, many families are taking time away from their regular lives and enjoying a few days or weeks in their vacation homes. Usually, vacation homes are located in areas with pleasant climates, which is what makes them feel like an escape during the dog days — but in the summer, even the most temperate region can start to feel hot.
Fortunately, you don’t need to blow your savings on temperature control solutions for your vacation pads. Here are a few quick fixes that can make a major difference in how a vacation home feels during the summer months.
Ceiling Fans
Unlike central air and other types of A/C units, which actually lower the temperature of the rooms inside a home, ceiling fans make spaces feel cooler by taking advantage of the wind chill effect. In hot environments, the skin produces sweat; moving air will wick that sweat away, causing it to evaporate faster and leaving the skin feeling cooler. To achieve this effect, a ceiling fan costs only about one cent every three hours of use; in contrast, an A/C unit will cost more than a dollar in the same amount of time, plus it requires professional installation and maintenance.
For a vacation home, which is usually located in a comfortable climate anyway, you can install a reliable Hunter Fan in every room for exceedingly low cost, and you can keep your fans running without worrying about your utility bills increasing dramatically. Even better, ceiling fans are mounted out of the way, and they come in a variety of styles and sizes, so you can find an option that fits your vacation aesthetic perfectly.
Window Film
If your vacation home has older, single-pane windows, you might be considering upgrading them to newer models to improve their energy efficiency. Indeed, double-pane windows filled with special gas can better insulate the home from outside temperature fluctuation, and if your window frames are rotted or the glass is broken, an upgrade might be in order. However, if energy efficiency and cost are your only concerns, you might opt instead for window film.
Window films are thin, strong sheets of polyester treated in various ways to improve the functionality of windows. Some films reflect light while others filter certain types of UV rays; generally, the impact is a cooler and more comfortable inside space at a fraction of the cost of new windows. Window films can also provide a decorative element to your space, obscuring views or creating dazzling light displays. You can install window film yourself, but it is generally affordable and more effective to rely on the skills of a window film expert.