How Shea Homes Keeps Your Home Cool and Your Bills Low

This year’s round of record-breaking temperatures have arrived in the valley, and the 100s are here to stay. Which means your A/C is kicked on to help keep you cool – so what better time to talk about just one more thing that separates Shea Homes Arizona from some other builders?

Hint: it’s all in the materials.

With every community we develop, we take a floor to ceiling approach. It’s this careful attention to detail in every aspect of the home building process that helps produce the high-quality homes that Shea is known for.

That’s due in no small part to the talented and committed trades and suppliers we work with. In this series, we’ll take you on a deeper dive with our trades and suppliers across the Valley to see how each element of your Shea home works together to create a place that you’ll love to live.

And with that precious cold air flowing from your vents, it’s the perfect opportunity to highlight Greenfiber®.

Greenfiber uses blown cellulose insulation to keep your home warmer in the winter and – maybe more important to Arizonans – cooler in the summer. By effectively working to keep heat out of your home you’ll be saving money on your utility bills during the year’s peak hot season. That’s a part of what earned Shea Homes it’s ENERGY STAR® label, which uses up to 20-30 percent less energy than other non-certified new homes. That means a percentage of your current energy bill could be going to something else! Together, families who purchased homes earning the ENERGY STAR label save more than $350 million each year on their utility bills.

Our choice of Greenfiber is about more than just energy efficiency, though. Greenfiber’s committed to using sustainable materials for their products, so new homeowners can rest easy knowing their home was built with environmental responsibility in mind. With cellulose made from up to 85% recycled materials from local sources and by using low-energy manufacturing and short-haul transportation, Greenfiber is doing their part to, as they put it, “protect the home we all share”.

Now, how about a few practical tips to keep the house cool without turning down the air?

• Check your fan! Your ceiling fan spins two ways: clockwise, and counterclockwise. In the winter you should be operating the ceiling fan at low speed in the clockwise direction, which produces a gentle updraft and forces warm air near the ceiling down into the room. Setting it counterclockwise during toasty times will circulate the air and push the cool air down towards you, treating you to a cool breeze. Double-check the switch at the base of your fan to be sure it's spinning the right way.

• Laundry machines, dishwashers, and clothes irons all put off heat. And while no one expects you to forgo doing laundry all summer, you can keep your home comfortable by doing chores outside the hottest times of the day. Save running your appliances until evening, when you won’t have to sweat while you fold your clothes.

• Close those blinds. It’s called the greenhouse effect: sunlight and heat creep through your windows but have nowhere to escape to, so they hang around like the unwelcome guests they are, accounting for up to 30% of the unwanted heat in your home. So, when the sun is out, keep your blinds closed; doing just this can lower mid-day temperatures by almost 20 degrees.

To learn more, visit sheahomes.com. 

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