The summers down here in the South can be simply blazing. If you aren’t proper with this type of heat, it can be a very rude awakening. When I first moved here, I was stunned by how hot it is down here. I lived out west for a long period of time, so I knew something about heat. However, I was not prepared at all for the combination of ultra high humidity and very steep temperatures. It was staggering at first. And, all I knew was how to turn the HVAC air conditioner lower and even lower. This is actually the stupidest reaction one can have. Those first utility bills were billfold emptying. It didn’t take me but a few weeks to figure out I needed to change my HVAC behavior. To start, I sealed up the house I was living in. I added weatherstripping & siliconed every small crack I could find anywhere in the house. Next, I got some dark curtains to pull closed while in the morning. Just stopping the ambient heating from the sun was a large help. I took that idea a step further when I purchased a solar blocking film. There are four floor to ceiling windows on the southwestern facing side of my house. The solar blocking film did an very good job of stopping the direct sunshine from lighting up my home. Finally, I installed a smart temperature control. This thing is the best. It has l gained my patterns, so it adjusts the temperature control accordingly. While I am gone while in the morning, it raises the temp by almost seven degrees. Around an hour before I get home, it starts cooling the house. So, by the time I’m ready to relax, the house is cool plus comfortable. The summer time is still a beast. However, the utility cost is not anywhere near as high as it once was.