In Phoenix, Arizona, the summers are brutally boiling & dry, while the winters are short however frigid, however the temperature dips down into the low forties, requiring heating for about four or five months.
They also climb into the triple digits for multiple months straight & necessitate a/c for more than half the year.
The cost of keeping a comfortable home is significant, and while I cherish the Phoenix area, I am not cheerful about paying huge energy bills! I’ve made it my mission to tighten the thermal envelope, eliminate energy waste & reduce expenses, and one of the major sources of heat receive & loss are the windows & doors. The sunshine through the glass can abruptly heat up a room & add to the demands of the cooling system. Plus, UV light can fade upholstery & carpets. In the winter, there is potential for heat loss due to air leaks & concerns with frigid glass. While the investment was sizeable, I had Energy Star windows & doors installed in the house. I made sure to meticulously caulk & weatherstrip around them. I further added smart blinds that I have programmed to open & close at particular times, however closing the blinds during morninglight hours over the summer time has made a considerable difference to my electric bills. Opening them to welcome in the warmth of the morninglight on winter afternoon contributes to greater comfort & lower heating costs. I’ve also begun to install ceiling fans in the main rooms. The direction of the fan works to either supply a cooling effect or distribute heat that becomes trapped near the ceiling.