There are several methods to reduce or even replace the use of an air conditioning system by using non-mechanical ways to keep your home cool when it’s hot outside.
Cooling Your Home Naturally
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HVAC
Natural Ventilation
Natural ventilation relies on the wind and the “chimney effect” to keep a building cool.
Passive Solar Design for the Home
Your home’s windows, walls, and floors can be designed to collect, store, and distribute solar energy in the form of heat in the winter and reject solar heat in the summer. This is called passive solar design or climatic design because, unlike active solar heating systems, it doesn’t involve the use of mechanical and electrical devices, such as pumps, fans or electrical controls to move the solar heat.
Vapor Diffusion Retarders and Air Barriers
Vapor diffusion retarders, air retarders, and air/vapor retarders all relate to the interaction of temperature and moisture in and around the building envelope. A vapor barrier or vapor diffusion retarder (VDR) is a material that reduces the rate at which water vapor can move through a material.
Radiant Floor Heating and Cooling Systems
Radiant floor heating has been used for centuries. The Romans channeled hot air under the floors of their villas. The Koreans channeled hot flue gases under their floors before venting them up the chimney. In the 1930s, architect Frank Lloyd Wright piped hot water through the floors of many of his buildings. Some home builders’ surveys have shown that, if given a choice, most new home owners prefer radiant floor heat over other types of systems.
Heating Your Home with an Active Solar Energy System
Active solar heating systems consist of collectors that collect and absorb solar radiation and electric fans or pumps to transfer and distribute the solar heat in a fluid (liquid or air) from the collectors. They may have a storage system to provide heat when the sun is not shining. An active system may be more flexible than a passive system in terms of siting and installation.
Residential Solar Heating Retrofits
Adding (retrofitting) a solar space heating system to your home is one way to combat increasing energy costs and to raise your home’s market value. The two major types of solar retrofits are active systems (requiring mechanical energy and hardware such as pumps and fans to distribute heat) and passive systems (which depend on the natural circulation of a fluid for heat movement).
Saving Energy with Electric Resistance Heating
Electricity is a versatile but precious energy source. Because it is needed for refined power equipment such as computers and medical machinery, when it is used for less-refined needs such as heating it should be used as efficiently as possible.
Use and Care of Home Humidifiers
Humidifiers can alleviate common nuisances brought on by winter heating, but without regular maintenance, they can promote the growth of biological organisms in the home.
Radon Testing Checklist
Regardless of the type or radon test you choose, there are a few steps you need follow to ensure an accurate reading in your home.
