STAYING COOL IN THE HEAT
During the summer months, it can be quite a challenge to keep your building cool. The sun is beating down on your roof, the air is hot, and it becomes more and more expensive to cool your building. Without an efficient AC system and good insulation, you could be running your AC all day, everyday, and still losing cold air as it escapes your building. So what can you do to keep your building cool in the summer without spending a fortune? We’ve got some recommendations for you.
Energy Efficient HVAC
The HVAC unit is what produces the cold air you’re trying to keep inside your building, so it makes sense that you should make it as efficient as possible. If you have an old AC unit, you might be wasting money running it at a higher volume because it is less efficient. Spending money upfront to upgrade will almost always pay off in the long-run. Perhaps your AC is already an efficient unit, but it isn’t running at full capacity. In this case, it might be time to clean your vents, clean your duct work, clean the exterior unit, or get a tune-up from a local professional. Keeping your HVAC running efficiently is step on in keeping cold air in your building.
Adequate Insulation
Next, you want to make sure that once you produce cold air in your building, it stays inside. Poor insulation in the roof and exterior walls are the primary cause of escaping conditioned air. For your roof insulation, we recommend spray foam, a material we manufacture. It has the highest R-value of any roofing system on the market, while also providing a number of other benefits that we’ve covered elsewhere. For exterior walls, there are a number of great options. Installing spray foam in the walls is extremely effective, but is something we don’t have expertise in.
In either case, roof or walls, making sure the insulation is in proper condition (not squished, wet, or missing) is crucial. Great insulation can be ruined if it isn’t in the condition it was designed to be in.
Preventing Drafts
Finally, getting a good seal on all doors and windows is a crucial step in keeping cold air in your building. If you have an efficient HVAC, a well-insulated roof and wall system, but your doors and windows aren’t properly sealed, you’ll continue to lose cold air. Getting a good seal on doors can be a challenge if they have become warped or damaged, as they often don’t fit snugly with the door frame any more. If this is the case and you cannot simply apply new weather stripping on your own, we recommend calling a local contractor to consider replacing the problem doors and windows.
Conclusion
Keeping cold air in your building doesn’t have to be a constant struggle. Following these 3 simple steps is affordable and effective, while not requiring a ton of mental effort either. These are straightforward options. Contact us today if you’d like to learn more about installing spray foam on your existing roof to improve insulation performance and keep cold air inside.
