Should You Keep Windows Open or Closed During the Summer?

As the weather heats up, you may be tempted to open windows and doors constantly to cut down on cooling costs or to just make the temperature in your home feel more bearable. Is that the right move or are there other factors you should consider beyond just how the temperature in your home feels? We are going to consider some of the health benefits and risks of opening your windows in the summertime as well as the practical aspects of how cost effective it is to open windows and when you should keep them closed.

Ideal Times to Open Windows for Temperature Regulation

When is the best time of day to open your windows in summer weather? It is recommended that windows be opened in the morning when the weather is cooler. This allows fresh air into the house, which is important for you to have clean air to breathe and to prevent the air from becoming stale. It also cools down your house inexpensively.

It is cost effective to open windows in the early morning and in the evening when the temperature is cooler, so this way the outside temperature can naturally cool the inside of your house. Allow that air to circulate for a while before closing the windows back. Keep windows closed during the hottest part of the day, which tends to be between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. in most areas.

In order to get the most from your open window cooling during the summertime, make sure that you open windows on opposing sides of the house. This allows the breeze to come through on both sides, creating a cross breeze and ensuring that no matter which way the wind is blowing, you are benefiting from it.

Close Windows During High Allergy Periods

Even if the day is cool in the summer, you might not want to open the windows. If you are an allergy sufferer, or someone in your house is, and you live in an area where there is a lot of hayseed, dust, or animals, then opening the window during the day can be a bad idea.

Choose times when the wind is low, so there is little chance of pollen, dander, and other allergy irritants coming into your house. Consider installing fine mesh screens on the windows so that your home can benefit from the breeze without as many irritants.

Allergies are often at their peak during the summertime, especially hay fever allergies. If you keep the windows open indiscriminately, you can create a house full of allergy sufferers who feel poor, have trouble sleeping, and who exhibit allergy symptoms continuously. Be careful about when you are opening the windows and how high the wind is at the time. Consider clearing the area around your house plants and animals that could cause allergic reactions.

There may be certain times during the summer where allergens are more prevalent in the air. These high allergy periods are when you should be most careful and keep your windows closed as much as possible.  

Make the House Livable Even with Closed Windows

Realistically, you may not be able to keep the windows open during much of the day during the summer. The heat may be too much or the allergens may bother you and your family too much. Besides, there will be times when it is raining or there are loud noises on the street nearby that would make keeping the windows open very uncomfortable.

So, how do you ensure that house is comfortable for you and your family even with the windows closed? Obviously, you will want to turn up the air conditioning or set up fans to circulate air and keep the inside of the house cool. But doing these things over longer periods of time can cause problems as well.

We recommend that you make sure the house is kept very clean. Use reliable cleaners in the Bronx if you need to in order to keep a tidy house and remember that closed windows and doors trap dirt inside. They keep dust and allergens from leaving your home, so it is vital that you spend enough time and effort cleaning your home during the summer.

One of the bet things you can do to ensure that your home is comfortable during the summer is to clean the air filters for your air conditioning system. These should be changed out every few months and cleaned every few weeks. How frequently you will need to do either of those things will depend on how many people live there, how often the AC is run, and how dirty or clean the house is.

Proper cleaning of the air filter, the vents in the house and the entire buildings is important if you are going to be cooped up inside the house for long periods of time. You want to get rid of germs and make sure that family allergies are not acting up more than necessary. You can do that by ensuring a clean house all the time, bringing in outside help from cleaning companies when needed.

Be Careful of Humidity

During the summer, humidity can be a real problem. It can create stifling heat that makes it hard to sleep and hard to breathe. You will want to set up a dehumidifier in rooms where people suffer excessively from the high humidity. The dehumidifier may not need to be running constantly, but you can activate it at times when people will be using those rooms and will want some help making the environment nicer for them.

When the air is very humid, try to keep windows and doors closed as much as possible. This will make it easier to regulate the temperature and humidity of the interior of the house and keep the humidity from coming inside.

Use these tips to make your home safe, cleaner, and more livable during the summer months. If you had questions before about when to keep windows open during the summer, we hope most of them were answered here.