Hello and Happy Tuesday,

Summer is here and bring on the heat, here are some ways to help keep the house/yo-self cooler during the hotter part of the season.
The number one thing to remember is that nature does not like an imbalance and hot is always trying to transfer to cold areas, so when the A/C is humming keeping the house cool, heat is acutally trying to transfer into the house. 75% of all heat transfer in a house occurs through the roof. Here are some suggestions to help stay cool.

1) Party Naked

2) Insulation is a good start, the new standard is R-38 approximately 15-16 inches and in older homes in Philly with flat roofs blow in insulation is the cheapest route. Houses built before 1945 should make sure that knob and tube wiring does not exist in the attic as this type of wiring needs to dissipate heat and should not be covered with insulation.

3) Silver coating/reflecting that flat top roof to help prevent the sun rays/heat from absorbing into the house. Silver coating has reflective value but no more sealant value than paint and should be done every 3-4 years as dirt/debris/weaterhization eventually eliminate the paints ability to reflect.

4) Ceiling fans, especially in rooms that only have windows are one wall as there is little or no cross ventialtion in these rooms especially when the door is shut.

5) For houses that are fortunate enough to have central air conditioning, a lot of times in older homes central air conditioning is added to a heating system with little or no modification to the duct work. If there is a central return in the hall way an inexpensive/easy to maximize the efficiency and improve indoor comfort levels is to install transfer grills above the bedroom doors to help hot air/humidity return to the a/c compressor to be reconditioned(cooled) and put back in the house. If there is no return on upper floors, it is an imcomplete/ineffective system and the utility bills are a lot higher than they need to be as well as reduced indoor comfort levels, consulting with a licensed HVAC to improve this situation will pay for itself overtime with the reduced energy bills.

6) Sealing/maintaining/weather stripping around windows/doors/siding to prevent hot drafts from entering the living space area.

7) Sealing openings/gaps in ductwork with a mastic or foil tape.

8) Changing out old that old clunker window unit that runs on 220 electric for a more efficient one that runs on 110 electric.

9) Sealing gaps/cracks in upper floor ceilings and installing insulation blankets over attic hatches/drop down steps.

Hopefully this will help you stay cool during the summer and reduce the out of control energy cost. If you have any other suggestions that may help out please contribute or contact me at www.asafensoundhomeinspection.com

Thank you for your time,
BC

Actually, white roofs are MUCH cooler, about 35 degrees cooler than silver...
http://eetd.lbl.gov/coolroof/how.htm

but this is a great commercial plug!