We usually try to keep as much heat as required in during the winter. But when the hotter season of the year comes, the best we can do is keep the heat out to make our house cool, as excessive heat has been associated with irritability, heat strokes, and sometimes even death.
Summer is here now, temperatures are rising, and there are heat waves across Europe, North America, and some parts of Asia. Because of the extreme heat keeping your home cool is very important.
Read these 10 ways to keep your house cool without an AC so that the heat does not take its toll on you:
1. Keep the Window Blinds and Curtains Closed
One might be tempted to think that keeping windows open during hot seasons may keep the house more aerated and colder. But this isn’t usually the case.
During hot seasons, the sun is usually up for extended periods during the day. If its rays enter through the window, there will be a lot of radiation, and that heat is going to spread from object to object, adding to the overall temperature in your rooms. For this reason, it is often best you keep the windows shut.
2. Remove Hot Lighting
Some bulbs emit too much heat. This is especially true about sodium lights. The best thing to do during a heat wave is to disable any appliances emitting too much.
Replace your overheating bulbs with energy server bulbs. If you can, do not even have bulbs on during the day. Only put them on during the night.
Read: Tips to Help You Cope With Heat Waves
3. Other Electrical Appliances
You should put off every other electrical appliance that consumes energy and emits heat: your TVs, videos, any appliance at all. They shouldn’t stay on when you aren’t using them because being on means it is emitting heat.
This is good practice in not only keeping your house cool during extreme heat but in conserving power and paying less as well.
Fix appliances that have gone bad; these ones are more prone to overheat.
4. Ceiling and Standing Fans
Fans are better than ACs in that they do not use up that much power and are more available.
To cool your room down during hot seasons and without the use of air conditioning:
- Use either a ceiling fan or a standing fan.
- Put the ceiling fan directly over your bed (You know this).
- Stand the standing fan just where it can blow about.
- Set it in autorotation so that it moves about, blowing breeze onto most parts of the house.
You should stand the standing fan in your workspace, where your appliances have to be in use.
Read: How To Make Your Home Safe For The Elderly
5. No Hot Water
You should stay off hot water for now until the heat passes. While it is unlikely that anyone will want to bathe in hot water during extreme heat, some people still do.
The hot water is only going to make you feel hotter. At the same time, it will increase the temperature of your room.
Take your bath with cold water. This is going to keep both you and your room cold. Bath cold water as often as you can—two to three times a day during a hot season is just fine.
6. Ice Fans
Regular standing fans are cool enough. But you can pull off a few tricks to make your house even cooler in summer.
Take some ice cubes from your fridge and place them in front of the fan. As the fan blows, the ice will melt, releasing its heat into the air. This is going to provide additional cooling for the room.
You can also include ice in your drinks. The ice will make you feel colder—remember, the reason for wanting a cold room is so you can feel less hot and uncomfortable.
Read: How To Keep Your Home Safe And Accident-Free
7. Paint the Walls with Lighter Colors
We are not suggesting that you repaint your house once it starts to feel hot. We are saying that it is best to plan ahead for the summer months and paint your house in lighter colors for when the heat comes.
Light colors do not absorb as much heat as darker colors like black and brown.
Don’t just keep the walls lighter in color. Also, put on colored clothes. Lighter and brightly colored clothes. Dark clothes will draw heat to you and make you more uncomfortable.
8. Don’t Use Carpets, Especially Light-Colored Ones
In the summer, it is best you stay away from carpets. Here is why: carpets are heavy and usually draw and absorb a lot of heat. They only add to how hot the room is going to be.
Carpets are also quite hard to manage; they get dirty all the time and clog up a lot of dust. For people who have seasonal allergies, this can constitute a problem.
Take the carpets off to keep you and your house cool this summer. Leave the ground tiled. Tiles do not absorb that much heat; in fact, they might even feel cold to walk on.
Read: Best plants for the nursery that are safe for Kids and Babies
9. Less Cooking
Cooking is the heat source you have to curb in heat season. As much as you can, minimize the cooking. And if you must cook, be sure to shut the door of the kitchen. If the kitchen has its own window, open the kitchen window and let the heat go out while its door is locked.
Don’t do much frying or anything that causes smoke to circulate in the house.
10. Hang a Wet Towel Around
Hanging a wet towel somewhere around your house is going to reduce the heat because as the water evaporates from the towel, it cools the room down.
Bonus: Also, you may want to change your beddings to just a curtain. Linen beddings in the heat will stick to your skin and make you uncomfortable. Do not do a lot of ironing clothes too.
This is for people who live in their own apartments. It is helpful to plant some plants around the walls of your house. They act as natural insulators by absorbing the rays of the sun.
Summary
Hot seasons can be quite uncomfortable. But you keep your house cool by keeping as much heat as you can out and generating as little heat as possible inside. Stay safe!
Photo by Aaron Huber on Unsplash
