3 Tips for Keeping Your Home Comfortable

June 18, 2018

Keeping your Knoxville, Tennessee, home cool without increasing your utility bills can be a challenge during warm weather. Fortunately, you can save energy, reduce expenses, and extend your HVAC system’s lifespan with a few simple changes. Use ceiling fans, update your landscaping, and add some houseplants to keep your home comfortable.

Use Ceiling Fans

Install ceiling fans to create cooling breezes in your living room and bedrooms. These fans can help you cut down on air conditioner usage and keep your family comfortable. Reduced wear on your HVAC system can help you prevent costly, inconvenient breakdowns of your system, as well. To conserve more energy, turn off ceiling fans in unoccupied rooms.

Update Your Landscaping

Attractive landscaping can make your home more welcoming and comfortable. For summer shade, plant deciduous trees on the west and southwest sides of your home to block the hot afternoon sun. Smaller species grow faster, but they can’t offer as much shade as larger varieties such as oaks. Trees can also make spending time outside more pleasant for you and your family.

Reduce paved areas as much as possible, and use lightly colored materials such as concrete for driveways and walkways. Darker materials such as asphalt absorb more light and heat from the sun.

Installing an awning over your outdoor HVAC unit can provide shade and increase its operating efficiency.

Add Houseplants to Your Home

Houseplants can make your home look more welcoming, provide oxygen, and help improve your home’s indoor air quality. Plants such as aloe vera and peace lilies can also remove VOCs, or volatile organic compounds, such as formaldehyde and xylene. Conventional air filters can’t remove these compounds, and these elements are common in cleaners and air fresheners. They can lead to headaches, dizziness, fatigue, and other health problems.

Cook’s Comfort Systems Inc. has more than 25 years of HVAC experience. We’re a Trane Comfort Specialist, and we can help you install, repair, and maintain HVAC equipment to keep your home comfortable. Call us at 865-248-5001 for dependable service from our expert team.

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