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Southern California’s nearly perfect year-round weather makes for pleasant living during any season. Even when the summer heat reaches triple digits, you’ll stay comfortable in your new home because of advanced insulating materials and the latest technologies for residential cooling.
This doesn’t mean, however, that you should just turn on your central air conditioner every time it gets hot. That starts adding up to expensive utility bills. Instead, you can rely on the following strategies to cool down and save money.

Go Natural
Rely on natural forces to cool down your home. Before the sun’s rays have a chance to heat your structure in the morning, open all windows, especially those that are across the way from each other. The cross ventilation allows the morning air to rush into and out of your home to keep everything cool. As the sun starts to rise, close the coverings and windows of any south-facing windows to prevent the solar heat from entering your home.

Clear The Path
You may have opted for the most powerful climate control option when you bought your new home. That’s not useful if the vents that produce the cooling air are obstructed in some way. If there are spaces in your home that do not get cold, make sure that there is a clear path from the vent to that location. Bulky window coverings, large wall art, and big pieces of furniture can prevent air from flowing freely. While you’re at it, keep the doors and vents closed to rooms that you do not usually use. There’s no point in allowing cold air to enter such rooms when nobody is there. This strategy also allows more cold air to enter rooms that are occupied.

Change The Sheets
Make it a habit to change the types of sheets you use at the beginning of every season. You’ll be freshening up the look of your bedrooms and can use materials that are more suited to the climate at that time of year. For example, flannels, fleece, and thick wools are great for keeping warm in the winter but will keep you unnecessarily hot in the summer.
Use cotton bedding in the summer because it stays cooler. Experiment with using buckwheat pillows. They are filled with buckwheat hulls that already have natural air spaces between them, so that they do not hold heat like traditional pillow material.

Get Out of The House
The hottest part of the day usually runs from noon to about 4 p.m. The easiest way to avoid dealing with this discomfort is to make sure that you’re not at home during those hours. This may be easy to do if you work a full-time job but may be problematic if you’re stay-at-home parent dealing with kids on summer vacation.
During those times, you can schedule visits outside the home to libraries, museums, shopping malls, grocery stores, and other locations where air-conditioning is free. Trips to the beach or the community pool also cool everyone down.

If you want more energy-saving strategies that take advantage of your new home, or want to check out the models that we have to offer as Southern California homebuilders, please contact us.