The summers have arrived and the days of scorching heat are just near us. With the ever rising levels of mercury, it’s going to be a real challenge to keep your home cool on a hot day this summer. Fan, cooler and air conditioners can certainly help, but you need to be a little more cautious to deal with the tropical summer. And if you are wondering about how to deal with hotter days this summer, then just read on. I am going to share a few of the most effective tips to keep your home cool this summer.
The home is the place where you are supposed to rest after a long hectic day. And it’s practically not possible to rest comfortably, if your rooms are hotter. You cannot keep your air conditioner switched on for 24X7, it may not be viable for everyone and it’s certainly bad for the environment. But there are tricks you can use to beat the hot and make your home comparatively cooler and comfortable.
How to keep your home cool without air conditioning
In summer the houses become comparatively hotter like furnace making it unbearable to stay. Most of the houses we live in are made of concrete. Concrete absorbs quite a large amount of heat in summer season. Even if you switch on your fan, it won’t help much because of the heat and hot air circulation inside the house.
Of course, one can just turn on the air conditioner and bring the temperature to 21 or 22 degree Celsius. But air conditioning does not come cheap and it has added cost of the electricity.
Air condition is not available to everyone. And even if one have the air conditioning facility, running it full day and night is ultimately going to harm the environment and the pocket.
So what can be done to bring the home temperature to normal?
Well, there are many ways to deal with the heat, like you can make ways for the fresh and cold air to come inside.
Here is the list of some of the most effective ways to keep your house cool without air conditioning.
Install blinds in windows, to stop direct sun heat, it will help you keep your home cool.
Cotton is great for proper ventilation. Be it your night suit, bed and pillow cover or cushion cover, use as much of cotton as possible.
Open windows strategically, do not open the east facing windows during day time, especially if in the second half of the day.
Keep the furniture away from the windows so that the air ventilation is not blocked.
Keep the windows shut at noon, around 1.00pm and again open them in evening or afternoon around 6.00 pm.
Grow plants on terrace or rooftop. The plants and the soil will absorb the heat to a good extent.
Paint the terrace floor or the roof floor white, because it will not absorb the heat, rather reflect the sun rays.
Place stacks of hay under the sun on roof and sprinkle some water on them.
Make a shade on the rooftop with asbestos or any other material.
Make your own rooftop garden with lots of green grass and plants.
Paint the walls of the room in light shades.
Do not use dark shades even for accents.
Have multiple doors and windows for cross ventilation of the air.
Draw the curtains during the daytime.
Use velvet curtains so that the heat is absorbed. Light cotton curtains will reflect the heat.
The velvet dark curtains will block the entry of the scorching sun rays during the day time.
Grow some plants near the window sills to make the room cooler.
Keep potted plants in your rooms, the drawing room, the bedroom etc. The plants will help in keeping the rooms cooler.
You can use thermostat to absorb all the heat and keep the room cool.
The ceilings of the rooms must be white. It’s better to avoid the darker shades for ceiling.
Use lighter colours for bed covers, bed sheets, cushion covers, sofa covers, etc.
Avoid carpets; bare cold floor works better in summer.
Keep an aquarium in your home, a big one if possible. The sight of water is soothing in summer.
You can also keep a fish bowl in case of limited space and budget.
Use dimmer lights in summer, the extra bright lights can make the room warm.
While using table fan, keep a bottle of ice or an ice pack near it, the air that you will feel will be much cooler and soothing.
De-clutter your home, the more the objects; hot air pockets will be created.
Pour buckets of water on rooftop during day and night for a much cooler home.
Use exhaust fans and kitchen chimneys always while cooking.
You can use air coolers, the air is cooled by water.
Mop the floors of your home with cold water, or water in regular temperature.
Avoid cooking too many spicy hot foods in summer.
Switch on ceiling fans for better air circulation and cooler homes.
The colours like white, pink, light green must be present in your home.
Keep bouquet of fresh colourful flowers in your rooms, bringing nature in your home will keep your home cooler.
Water the plants regularly to keep them fresh and green.
Use garden plastics for rooftop gardening.
You can apply some mud on the outer walls, the mud works as insulator and absorb all the heat.
Use bamboo blinds on the windows for cooler homes.
Do not use bright and dark shades like navy blue, red, orange etc in your home.
Get rid of all the unwanted things, and empty the space.
Presence of open space in your rooms will make the rooms feel cooler and much better.
Do not keep piles of pillows on the beds, rather keep them in cupboards.
If you can, then get rid of some of the furniture like tables and chairs which you do not need frequently.
Instead of curtains, you can use drapes; multiple cloth layers will absorb heat faster.
Keep bowls of water near the windows so that the heat can be absorbed by the water during the daytime.
If you have balcony, then hang some potted plants and make your own hanging garden.
At night, in the evenings, after the sunset keep the windows open for circulation of fresh and cool air.
Turn off the appliances and the gadgets that you do not need. The appliances often contribute to the warm home.
Smoothen the floor, to reduce the heat absorption.
Lime wash the terrace floor for reflection of heat.
Over to you
Fan, air conditioners and cooler are okay, but nothing beats the fresh and natural air. Simple tricks like opening and closing the window at the right time and putting water pots in front of the windows can make lots of difference.
If you are tired of dealing with scorching heat, I suggest you try some of the tricks discussed above to keep your home cool on a hot day.
How do you plan to deal with the hot days of this summer?
