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Sunrooms are a great addition to a home. They are the perfect spot to relax, read, or visit with friends. These well-lit environments away from the rest of the house provide additional living space and can also add character and charm to your home. While a sunroom may be the ideal temperature during the spring and fall, it can become overly hot during the summer.
The hot summer sun may make a sunroom feel more like being inside a sauna than a comfortable place to relax. It may seem like an impossible task to keep your sunroom cool during the hot summer months, but you most certainly can. Here are several easy ways that you can help keep the temps lower in your sunroom in the summer.
Install blinds
Installing blinds in a sunroom may seem a little weird given that the entire purpose is to let the sun into the room, but they are a practical solution. You don’t have to completely block out all the sun, you just need to reduce the amount of direct sunlight. Instead, opt for blinds that filter the light. Blinds are also great if you need a little more privacy in your sunroom.
Blinds can be partly or fully closed during the afternoon when the sun’s rays are at their height. Curtains that are hung around windows can be used in the same way to decrease heat due to extra sunlight.
Use a ceiling fan
Good air circulation is critical. If you have a ceiling fan installed, keeping it on will make the room noticeably cooler. Sunrooms that lack this vital element can also benefit from portable or floor fans. In fact, using fans at the bottom of the sunroom will also help the air blow upward, which creates a natural circulation.
Tint the windows
Tinted windows in your sunroom will help to keep it cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. Tinted windowpanes will work for extra protection from the sun’s heat. There is a downside to this, though — you will be blocking some of the light, which was presumably the whole reason for wanting a sunroom in the first place.
Although some light will be filtered, you will find that the tinted windows will block more heat than light.
Add an exhaust fan
A room with the purpose of receiving hours of sunlight needs proper ventilation or else it will become too hot. Extra airflow will also prevent mold and mildew from becoming a problem in your sunroom. The task of keeping air moving in your sunroom should have started when the room was built, with the addition of air vents or an exhaust fan.
Because of the vents, hot air will naturally be able to escape and will be pulled upward and out of the ceiling through an exhaust fan. Both vents and a fan are vital for removing hot air so that it does not become trapped at the top of the sunroom.
Use a window air conditioner
While a window air conditioner is not always aesthetically pleasing, it will work quickly and effectively to lower the temperature in your sunroom. A steady stream of cold air will counteract the heat from the sun. However, although it will provide immediate cooling, it’s not the best at energy efficiency.
The key when using one of these units is to find one that fits the window in your sunroom, as sunroom windows are typically on the larger side.
If your sunroom is too hot and uncomfortable, it will become an abandoned place in the summer — neglected and not worth the money you spent building it. Try some of these methods above to cool your sunroom down so you can enjoy this space all summer long!
You’re reading 5 Easy Ways to Keep Your Sunroom Cool in the Summer, originally posted on Decoist. If you enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Decoist on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.
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