Since I’ve been down south now for about a decade, I’ve learned a bit about managing the toughest time of the year when it comes to climate.
Thankfully, the heat pump doesn’t get called upon for heating very often at all during the Winter.
In fact, I’ve gone entire Winter seasons without ever flipping the thermostat over to heating. Basically, if I wake up to a chilly house, I just break out the space heater. But then comes Summer. From about now, mid May, through September and into October, we deal with some pretty intense heat. The first Summer I was here, I didn’t know anything more than immerse myself in air conditioning. But I also took a beating financially by going with this approach. That’s led me to learn just what I can do to prevent that sort of spending for cooling my home. And over the years, I have the basics completely down pat. First, it’s an air conditioning tune up from the HVAC company. Then, it really seals up the house. Like, replace worn weather stripping around doors and seal up any and all gaps I find inside and on the exterior of the house. Pulling the drapes to stop direct sunlight heating and having some discipline with the thermostat round out the basics. So now, I’m looking at the little things that end up driving the air conditioning demand. This Summer, I’m not going to use the stove or the oven for cooking. This really heats up the house. So it’s either the grill or the air fryer for cooking during the heat season.