CHARLOTTE, N.C. — With a heat advisory in effect for the Charlotte area Friday, many folks will crank up the air conditioning to beat the heat.
But experts say there are other ways to keep your house cool that won't drive your electricity bill sky high.
Brandon McBrier, the owner of Footprints Floors Charlotte, said there are some basic things you can do as a homeowner to keep your home cool.
The best part? They're easy and mostly inexpensive.
First, McBrier said you'll want to take a look at your old air filters.
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"These are just a couple of dollars at Lowe's or Home Depot and you can put them in with really no tools, which helps boost the efficiency of your system," he explained.
Another suggestion is to pull down your blinds or shades when leaving the house. That keeps the inside temperature cooler, thus taking away some stress on your HVAC unit.
"In the heat of the summer, light is heat," McBrier said. "And if you can cut down on that when you're not home."
There's another solution that's a bit more creative. It's not an immediate fix, though.
"Consider planting a tree on the side, ideally on the south or southwest corner of your home," McBrier said. "It needs to grow, but as it grows, it provides shade in the summer and it loses leaves and allows the sunlight to come through in the winter to help with your gas bill."
And for those who think they’re saving money by cutting off the air conditioning when they leave, forget about it. McBrier says you're actually doing the opposite.
"That is counterintuitive," he said. "You want to keep sort of a level playing field in the home and not with these spikes of hot and cold temperatures."
Instead, McBrier said you can leave your A/C on the auto feature. If you have ceiling fans, keep them running so there's airflow in the house.
"Use them, turn them on," he said. "Again, just take some of the pressure off your air conditioning system that you have."
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