How To Cool Your House In Summer
Most people wait impatiently for the first signs of summer to appear. The idea of warmth and being able to get outside again is enticing.
In fact sunshine is a rich source of vitamin D which is essential for protecting your bones, teeth and defending against a variety of diseases. It also makes you feel more positive!
But, the sun does also bring heat which can become unbearable. The problem is that your house will also be warming up; leaving you with no refuge!
Fortunately, there are several ways in which you can keep your house cool in summer. It’s important to note that air conditioning is generally an expensive option. This is why 62% of Australians no longer use it!
The following ways to keep your house cool in summer do not require air conditioning units:
Cladding
This may seem like an extreme option; it is certainly not the cheapest. But, it is cost effective over several years and surprisingly effective.
There is a range of cladding options; but they are all designed to protect your home. In the process they will bounce back sunlight; helping to keep your house cool in the summer.
Of course in the winter this is a great way of insulating your home; helping to keep the heat inside!
Blinds
If you’ve ever looked at houses in a country with warm summers then you’ll notice they tend to have blinds or shutters. There is a good reason for this.
Current estimates suggest you can reduce the heat entering your hoe by as much as 30%; effectively lowering the temperature in your home by as much as 20°!
You can take this a step further by using blackout curtains!
Make Ice Wind
You can position a fan near a window to draw air into your home. The movement of air will help to cool the house.
But, you should take this a step further by placing a bowl of ice in front of the fan. The fan will blow across the ice creating a cooling mist.
Windows & Doors
Leaving a window and a door on opposite sides of the house open will allow a breeze to flow through the home. This is natural ventilation.
But, be sure to have nets over the open doors or windows; you don’t want your hoe full of bugs!
It is important to take this a step further and allow the night air in to cool your home. Of course you’ll need to be aware of security as well as keeping the bugs out.
Move Your Bed
Heat rises which makes your upstairs bedroom one of the hottest places in the property. You can get round this by sleeping downstairs during the hottest part of the summer.
This will help you to get a good night’s sleep which is very important!
Change Your Lighting
If you use incandescent bulbs then you’ll quickly realize how much heat they give off. You can reduce this and help to keep your house cool by swapping them for CFLs.
It will also reduce your electricity costs!
Finally, it is important to avoid cooking inside if you can. Get your grill out and start using the outside space you have available. This will prevent the heat from building up in your home.
Ooooh these are such helpful tips! As someone who lives in the tropics, I gotta admit, some of these tips are things I haven’t known of before and that I will absolutely try now. Thanks for sharing!
Excellent tips! We live in Arizona where it gets very hot as we are in the middle of summer. Those 120 degree temps feel unbearable outside and it’s vitally important for our home to stay cool. I love the ice wind idea and honestly have never thought of trying this. Sounds like a great one for the kids too – I know my daughters would love to cool off inside with this method!
We have blackout curtains in our living room and master bedroom. I enjoy the sunlight but some days the heat makes the curtains necessary. We will have to try the other suggestions.
Great tips. Hard to think that it will get that hot soon. Especially since we just had snow here! ha! We are lucky that our house stays kind of cool through out the hot months.
Great tips! It’s so cold I haven’t really thought much about the fact sunny temps will be here soon. I love to leave a fan in my bedroom window on warm summer evenings rather than running the AC
In the US we use a lot of air conditioning. I loved learning about your ideas, because I would like to make a smaller footprint this summer in terms of energy usage. We have blinds and have changed the bulbs. We are turning it up to 74 v. 69. Hopefully this will all help.
My parents definitely did the outdoor cooking one when I was little. We either grilled outside, cooked in the fire pit, or made things in the microwave so we didn’t have to heat the stove. As for the lights, I try to keep them off and use natural light for as long as I possibly can in the day, just to keep the heat at bay.
It’s probably a good thing I don’t live in Australia, as I’m the biggest wimp when it comes to being hot in the summer. The orientation of your house can also be a big factor. For example, when my husband and I built ours a few years ago, we made sure there were large windows along the south side so we could maximize the amount of light and warm rays from the sun. xx
We use blinds on every window and door. We live in the country and the summer sun is hot! The blinds do help cool our home, and we use them all the time.
Great tips for keeping a house cool in summer. It is still in the 50s here so I would be glad to be hot for a few days. My house keeps cool all year round but I do follow some of your tips like keeping the sunlight out.