Summer is the time for pool parties and beach vacations. However, the season can also cause increased electricity bills. Hot weather can create unexpected power fluctuations.
Guiding homeowners through design options that reduce their energy bills will optimize their decorating or renovation projects, helping to stabilize their home’s power. Here are five ways summer weather leads to home power fluctuations and how design choices can help.
1. Heat-Related Equipment Stress
Rising daily temperatures affect power equipment for electricity providers and homeowners. Heat makes natural gas turbines less efficient at sending energy to customers, while transformers overheat in extreme weather conditions.
When homeowners rely on their HVAC units more intensely throughout the season, equipment efficiency issues related to the weather become a concern.
2. Increased Air Conditioning Usage
Rising daily temperatures change overnight conditions, too. If the mornings and evenings don’t help structures cool down after a sweltering day, homes use more air conditioning around the clock. When the local grid struggles to maintain production due to other heat-related issues, homeowners may deal with power fluctuations.
Lesser-known factors also cause air conditioning usage to rise. If people are baking meals and desserts for summer holidays, the oven’s heat will warm the house, too. They’ll rely on extra air conditioning, potentially without realizing that their HVAC unit is straining the grid more than usual.
3. Additional Peak Hours
Peak hours are the times of the day when people maximize their electricity usage. If everyone’s keeping their HVAC fans on during the hottest point in the afternoon, that increased usage can add to peak periods and strain the grid. Peak hours commonly occur after working hours because people get home and start cooking or doing laundry. Grid instability may result from too many homes demanding maximum energy at the same time.
Testing is always possible if you want to ensure that your system can handle surges. Experts conduct load bank testing to gauge each power system’s capabilities. Emergency generators must be tested at 30% of their rated load monthly and at about 50% of their load per year, while your HVAC unit may need a different percentage. Letting experts handle your testing will provide the most accurate results, so you know how much weather-related peak hours could affect your home.
4. Seasonal Storms
Summer thunderstorms happen frequently. While power lines’ engineering can withstand everyday weather events, these lines remain exposed to other elements. Falling trees and flying debris can break power lines and cause blackouts. If an electricity surge hits a short circuit, homes may not get the energy they need during peak hours.
5. Less Efficient Solar Panels
Some homeowners have solar panels to lead less grid-dependent lives. Unfortunately, they’re still at risk of power fluctuations. Extreme heat waves reduce solar panel efficiency. While companies are designing updated panels to mitigate that energy loss, it remains a current issue for homeowners.
When the grid can’t provide continuous power to still-connected homes, those people may encounter the same surge issues with their air conditioning.
How to Protect Homes Through Design Choices
Experienced designers can help homeowners avoid heat-related electricity challenges with strategic decorating advice. When helping clients, make recommendations to protect and beautify their living spaces.
Incorporate Smart Technology
Household features connected to Wi-Fi can reduce power bills. Some apps connect to 1,600 add-on programs so homeowners can integrate their smart systems into one accessible platform.
Smart thermostats use a load-shifting setting to adjust household temperatures when the grid indicates peak hours have started. Homeowners can reduce their energy demand and save on their monthly bills. Other smart appliances may use less electricity during usage, so households don’t require the same amount of power they typically do.
Point Out Cooling Solutions
Your clients don’t have to invest in new technology to reduce the effects of power fluctuations in the summer. They can also swap their curtains. Drawing thicker panels shut during the afternoons prevents warm sunshine from entering the house. People could also replace their flooring with materials that better insulate a room. These changes may even already align with their design or renovation ideas.
Recommend Energy-Efficient Windows
Replacing household windows to reduce heat gained or lost throughout the year is an excellent design upgrade and energy-reducing project. If your clients get new double-glazed or low-E models, they’ll minimize the heat transferring into their home during the summer.
Even if the windows don’t get direct sunlight, they won’t warm up with the daytime weather and transfer that warmth into the house. Guide your clients through choosing windows with a different design so the upgrade doubles as part of their redecorating efforts.
Help Homeowners Manage Power Fluctuations With Confidence
If you’re wondering why your electricity bill rises during the summer, you’re not alone. Hot weather can create power fluctuations and make the grid less stable. If you show your clients how to select energy-focused design choices — like adding new curtains or replacing floors — you’ll help them stay comfortable during the year’s warmest season.