Don't Let Your Windows Be A Pain: How To Optimize Your AC Sytem

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If summertime temperatures soar where you live, you cannot forego buying an air conditioner, but you can take steps to improve the function of your AC. By taking steps to decrease heat gain, you can optimize the function of your AC system and save yourself some money in the process. One good place to start fighting heat gain is by boosting your windows' defenses against the heat. 

Heat Gain and Cooling Costs

Heat gain is the term used to describe the way the sun heats up your home during the summer. Any object that absorbs the sun's UV rays will heat up and transfer heat to its surroundings. The problem with window glass is that it allows UV rays to pass right through into your home, which means the sun is free to heat up the interior of your home. Up to thirty percent of the heat that your AC unit has to deal with enters your home through your windows. Thus, by taking steps to decrease heat gain through your windows, you can decrease the load on your AC unit and, in turn, increase its efficiency. 

Reinforcing Your Windows' Heat Defense

The beauty of a window is that it allows outside light into your home and provides you a view of the outside world. Whatever you do to improve your window's UV defense, you should not feel like you have to cut off your view of the outside world. For example, you could use thermal curtains to create a barrier between your home and the heat coming in from outside, but this leaves your home dark and isolated. In reality, all you need to do is apply low-e window film. Such film will screen out UV rays without cutting off your view of the outside world. In this way, window films can decrease your cooling costs by up to 30%

With normal double-pane windows, for every hundred dollars you spend on cooling your home, you throw thirty dollars right out your window. Over the course of a summer, you could be throwing away hundreds of dollars. Applying low-e window film to your windows is a cost-effective way to improve the function of your AC unit. After all, the less your home heats up, the less you have to run your AC unit to cool it back down. By allowing you to run your AC unit less, window film helps you to save money on cooling costs, but it will also increase the life of your cooling equipment, so why not install window film? Contact a company like Jones Air Conditioning & Electric for more information.


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