For starters, you can add weather stripping to outside-facing doors and windows. If your landlord doesn’t want to pay for it, then it can be found cheaply on aliexpress. Also, add insulation outside-facing switch covers and outlet plates.
For starters, you can add weather stripping to outside-facing doors and windows. If your landlord doesn’t want to pay for it, then it can be found cheaply on aliexpress. Also, add insulation outside-facing switch covers and outlet plates.
Use fans in the summer. You can keep your thermostat at 77-78 during the day and still feel comfy. The issue of why you feel hot is not because 77 is hot, it’s because air is not moving. Having a fan on keeps the air circulating in your apartment, making it more comfortable without using too much energy; instead of relying on your AC to move air around by lowering the thermostat so it keeps turning on.
Blackout shades also work to cool down your apartment, not just keep light out. Put them on windows facing west to keep sunlight out during the hottest time of the day.
You want white shades not black. A lot of modern glass is thermal blocking. It has a coating to reflect Infrared light. With black curtains, the sunlight hits the curtain and is absorbed. The curtain then re-radiates it as infrared. This spreads it around the room, since the window blocks it. With white, the light reflects off, and back out the window. This keeps more heat out.
For best effect, you want to use Mylar foil. I personally found the mylar bubble wrap wall insulation worked extremely well. It’s quite stiff, so easy to cut and handle. I used suction cups to hold it to the window. The outside would be the absolute best, but it still works extremely well on the inside.
Indeed. The one I use is black on one side and reflective on the other. It also uses suction cups, so I can easily put them on and remove anytime.