With the start of summer, finding an affordable cooling solution has suddenly moved to the top of many homeowners’ to-do lists. Most people are familiar with A/C, but what about evaluating the other options out there?
“I looked at A/C, ceiling fans and attic fans,” said Justin Jenks of Ewa Beach. “It was tough to find information that compared the different types of equipment and how they work for homes in my neighborhood.”
Ivan Whitworth of Island Cooling has been helping homeowners find relief from the heat for more than eight years. “It’s helpful to look at the full picture,” he said. “For many homes, the main source of indoor heat is from hot trapped air in the attic.”
Whitworth explained that attic ventilation, including ridge vents, bird-hole vents or solar attic fans are important, but only half of the solution. “If the home doesn’t have enough ventilation or insulation, indoor heat lingers late into the afternoon, even after the sun goes down,” he said.
The second step is to look at the area to be cooled. If the area has a lot of volume or has jalousie windows, it can be difficult to air condition that space. He recommends homeowners to take a look at the QuietCool whole house fan.
“A whole house fan draws cooler, outside air through your living space by pushing the hot air out of the home and out of the attic vents, creating a cooling breeze,” according to efficiency program Hawaii Energy.
Evaluating a home for QuietCool is simple. Customer Jenel Okada described a visit by Al Whitworth — Ivan’s brother — of Island Cooling to her Waipahu home. “Al came out to our home and showed the different temperature readings in the house. He then went into the attic to measure how big it was and how many vents we currently had,” she said.
Taking the home size, vents and attic space into account, Al was able to size a system for Okada’s home.
“It’s unbelievable,” she said. “It sucks the hot air out of your home. So if the outside air is cooler than inside, like when you go outside and think it’s so much cooler out there, then it will work for you. For us, it works even at the peak heat of the day.”
For more information, visit islandcooling.com or call 672-2300 to talk with the company’s certified green professionals.
ISLAND COOLING LLC
contact // 672-2300
web // islandcooling.com
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