Should I Keep My Basement Cool In The Summer? [Havertown,PA]

Whether you have an unfinished cellar for storage or a fully-finished man cave or rec room for a basement, cooling is a must in the summertime. Even if you’re not down there too often, air conditioning affects your comfort and air quality throughout the rest of your house. 

Now, if we’re being more specific: The time of year you need cooling varies based on your home’s size and design. 

Older twins, singles, and Victorian houses in Havertown, PA, on the Main Line, and in Delaware and Montgomery counties see their hottest basement temperatures at the end of the summer and into the fall. 

The climate down there is a month or two “behind” the temperature outside and upstairs. 

Meanwhile, larger homes and especially newer construction are built air-tight nowadays. In those cases, you get basements that are very warm all year. In the summer, it can approach sweltering. 

So, why does this all matter?

Well, that’s what we’re discussing in this article. We’ll cover a few particular reasons why you should keep your basement cool. Finally, we’ll tell you what we’ve found gets this job done the best. 

Meanwhile, you can always call us with any cooling (or heating!) questions about your home in Havertown, PA. 

Three Benefits Of Air Conditioning A Basement

Even if you’re not down there that often, keeping your basement cool in the summer:

1. Cuts Down Your Energy Bills

2. Makes Your Home More Comfortable

3. Improves Your Indoor Air Quality

Cuts Down Your Energy Bills

Wait, running more appliances makes your electric bill go down? Well, yes — if you do it right. 

In the summer, you’re running central air, right? And, it’s doing a lot of work keeping two (or maybe three) stories nice and cool. But, remember: heat rises.

That means warmth from the basement is coming up to the kitchen, dining room, and living room. And, your AC has to contend with it. 

But, what if you got rid of that heat before it became a problem?

Lowering the temperature in the basement keeps the temperature lower in the house overall. That’s less electricity you’ll need to stay cool. But there’s a catch. 

Whatever you use in the basement must be energy-efficient: It has to do the job without using too much electricity. We’ll get to that in a moment. 

Makes Your Home More Comfortable

This relates to our first point: The less your central air has to work, the better results you’ll get. That’s especially so when you get to a second or third floor. And if you have high ceilings. 

Remember, your central air relies on a pressurized, forced-air system to keep everything cool. It’s natural, then, for it to lose power the higher it goes. 

Two factors are at play. First, the more vents you have, the weaker pressure you end up having. That’s because the air escapes from more places. 

Second, even without too many vents, the circulation gets weaker the further away from the fan and blower you get. It’s why third floors and bedrooms never get as cool as the first floor. 

When you cool the basement, however, you take some of that load off the central system. That results in more even cooling —- and better comfort — overall.

Improves Your Indoor Air Quality

Let’s talk humidity. And mold. And air quality. And how these relate to air conditioning (and your basement).

First off, summer is the most humid time of year. Warm air naturally holds more moisture than cool air. This phenomenon affects more than you may realize. 

More moisture in the air makes it harder for your body to cool off naturally. And, it causes various particles to hang in the air. Mold spores, pollen, and other pollutants attach to water droplets and suspend where you can breathe them in. 

So, what does this have to do with your basement — and your air conditioner?

Well, first of all, most of the moisture in your house comes in through there. Groundwater seeps in, collects, and rises when it evaporates. 

Second, it’s dark down there and also warm in the summer. That plus the moisture makes it a breeding ground for mold. 

Air conditioning helps with all of that. 

Dehumidification is a crucial part of the air conditioning process. Your central air, and even a portable or window unit, gets rid of moisture in the air. 

Then, mold and mildew won’t take hold, at least not as easily, without a warm, moist area to thrive.  

Those conditions are most common in basements. So, treating that area makes a huge impact on your overall indoor air quality. 

Benefits Of Ductless Heating And Cooling In A Basement

A mini split for ductless heating and cooling is an excellent way to keep a cellar or finished basement cool and dry no matter how hot it gets down there. Specifically, the benefits are:

• Zoned Cooling

• Excellent Circulation

• Energy Efficiency

You can read more about these systems in the other article below. For now, here’s a quick overview.

Zoned Cooling

A mini split consists of an air handler inside that’s connected to an outdoor heat pump. All we need to connect them is a small lineset that runs through the wall. And that indoor unit has a built-in thermostat. This way, it creates “Zoned cooling.”

That means the air handler measures the temperature in the area it’s cooling instead of relying on the thermostat upstairs. It’s much more accurate and effective that way. 

Excellent Circulation

Forget a bunch of vents reducing the pressure ad circulation in the house. For most layouts, a single ductless indoor unit is all you need. 

These specially-made units can circulate air across an entire open floor of a house. It’ll even detect warm spots in that area and push extra cooling toward them. 

Energy Efficiency 

We mentioned how you’d need an energy-efficient solution to reduce your energy bills overall. Well, a mini split fits that bill. 

These systems use a heat transfer process rather than the usual conventional cooling you get with central air or portable units. It uses a tiny amount of electricity — you’ll barely notice an increase in your energy bills. 

And, they also do an excellent job dehumidifying. So, if you’ve been using a portable dehumidifier, you’ll down your expenses even more when you don’t that, either. 

Ductless Heating And Cooling In Havertown, PA

Call or email us any time at John Cipollone for a free consultation! Once we find out more about your Havertown, PA home, we’ll help you decide if ductless heating and cooling is the best choice for your basement.