Top Tips for Managing Your Property’s Temperature Under the Arizonan Sun
Moving to Arizona can be a dream come true for many, but it is also worth noting that it can be difficult to live here. Arizona gets hot, there is no getting away from that, and you need to be able to cope with this heat in some way. Here are some of our top tips for helping you manage your property’s temperature as the mercury climbs on the thermometer.
Buy a Good Property First
One of the first steps you need to take is to ensure that you have bought a good property in the first place. Your choice of property is going to make a massive difference in the way you handle heat in your home. Ideally, you want a place with a top-quality air-conditioning system. You might not need a full HVAC system depending on how much you feel the chill in the cooler months. However, AC is a must. There is nothing nicer than returning home on a hot summer’s day and stepping into the cool of your home.
You want to make sure that this air-conditioning system is in good condition. If you are moving into a property with a particularly old model, one of the first upgrades to the home should be the AC. Trust us, it is really going to make a difference!
Look at Your House’s Structure
The way your house is built might have quite an effect on the way it handles heat. The positioning of the rooms and the way air flows through them will make quite the difference in how heat moves through your home. You might even find that there is one room that seems to just collect heat, no matter what you try to do to shift it. Installing an external grate or filter might be one of the few ways you can disperse some of the heat.
Does your home have a crawlspace underneath it? This could be contributing greatly to the way your home processes heat. Crawlspaces tend to suck the cooler air of your home outside, and in the cooler months they can do exactly the same thing to your heat! Luckily, other hot states like Louisiana have found a solution to this.
By using closed cell foam, to close up the gap underneath the floor, you will notice quite a difference in your home and the way it handles heat. Using closed cell spray foam insulation will help to keep things nice and cool for you!
Choose Furnishings Well
It is not just the structure of your house that you need to pay attention to when decorating, but also the furnishing and decorating of your home. Choosing the wrong things could result in your home feeling overly stuffy and hot even with a good air-conditioning system helping out.
When it comes to painting walls, try to avoid darker colors. They are always going to keep the heat in and it might make the space feel really uncomfortable. Choosing a lighter color is always going to be a better choice. Ditch the navy and black tones and focus on keeping things light and airy.
You should also consider taking out any carpets that your property might have. These are going to be incredibly warm and unwelcoming underfoot. You need to focus on choosing something that will be cooler and won’t retain heat in the same way that a carpet does. For this reason, tiles or wooden floors are fantastic options! They will help you to create the perfect high-end room without you keeping extra heat trapped in. Think about adding light rugs if you do want something softer underfoot than the bare wood or tile.
Focus on the Outside Too
Your living space inside isn’t the only area that you can focus on when trying to create cooler spaces within your home. Do you have some sort of covered space that you can sit in outside? If you don’t it might be time to build one. You could create a full extension to the back of the property in this way, or you could just build a simple deck with an awning over the top. The most important thing is that it is shaded.
This provides you with an outdoor escape when the house just seems too hot to bear. Being able to sit under the shade outside can really help you to cool down a bit, especially if that shade is provided by the bulk of your house instead of just a tree or something else. You should also try to work out where there might be a wind trap around your home. Making a little seating area here means that you might be able to benefit from a cooling breeze when the rest of the property heats up.
Of course, you can also add a pool if you have the budget! Diving into your own pool to cool off is a true luxury that many of us want to have in our homes. Consider adding one to your home now, and you will have a brilliant place to cool off come those warmer summer temperatures!
Learn to Manage Your Property Now
Whether it needs some closed cell spray foam in the crawlspace or some extra additions to the AC system, every property is different. However, with the summers in Arizona being no joke at all, you need to make sure that you know how to cool down when things get too hot. Learn about all the tricks of your property, and try to exploit as many as you can to keep those interior temperatures down.
You could embrace a mix of indoor/outdoor living, or you could even set things up so you have a room in your property that you are always going to be able to keep cool as the temperatures climb. Start making changes to your home now, and you should be able to feel the full benefit of them once it is summer again.
