How to Keep the Summer Heat Out of Your Home

Summertime is a great time to spend outdoors with family and friends. The sun is shining, the weather is warm, and there’s plenty of things to do.

Summertime may bring many wonderful things but the extreme heat is not one of them. So what can you do to save your home and family from the heat?

Here are some tips on how to keep the summer heat out of your home and stay cool this season.

Keep the Windows Closed and Covered

Keeping a space cool without air conditioning during the hot summer months is as simple as closing your windows. This may be difficult to sell to those of us who enjoy fresh air, but trust us when we say it works. If the outside air is hotter than the interior air, closing the windows will assist in keeping your home a little cooler.

Because 76 percent of the sunshine that enters your home through the windows is converted to heat, keeping your blinds drawn and drapes closed is a good idea. You can use draperies and blinds like roller blinds and roman blinds to keep the windows covered and filter the sunlight, and some people even opt for blackout curtains to keep windows covered and block out the sunlight completely.

Insulate Your Doors and Windows

Consider closing the doors of areas you don’t use as often, such as bedrooms or bathrooms. Closing off areas of the house concentrates colder air in a single area, which can assist the room you use to stay cool faster.

Invest in some insulation if your doors have holes at the bottom, especially those that lead outside. Weatherstrips are a low-cost solution that you can install yourself.

Don’t Use the Oven – Eat Outside if Possible

Put that Sunday roast on hold, because nothing heats up a room like a 400-degree oven. Burners also emit some heat; so be strategic about which kitchen appliances you’re using. Opt for outdoor grilling instead, or any seasonal summer recipe that doesn’t require heat.

Swap Your Light Bulbs

During the summer, it’s not just kitchen appliances that generate excessive heat. Another, although less evident culprit is light bulbs. Because incandescent light bulbs waste 90% of the energy they use, switching to CFL (compact fluorescent lights) or LED bulbs can help keep your home cool. Energy-efficient bulbs, such as these, will also help you save money on your electric bill.

Use Fans

If you don’t have air conditioning, fans are your best friend – as long as you know how to use them properly. Because fans move air rather than chill it, how you use one and where you set it matters.

The greatest approach to circulate cooler air and push hot air out is to use fans to create a crosswind. Find the coolest section of your house (either the coolest room or outside air through a shaded window) and direct the fan toward the hottest part. This should assist in bringing cooler air in from one side of the house while pushing warm air out on the other.

You can use a large bowl of ice in front of a fan as a makeshift air conditioner. Using this simple trick, you can blow the cold air coming off the ice into the room.

Invest in Some House Plants

Invest in some house plants. You’ll be surprised what a difference they can make in a house. Not only are they aesthetically pleasing, but they also help to keep your indoor air quality in check. The best plants to buy are ones that require low sunlight and low humidity.

Peace lilies and rubber plants are the most heat-efficient plants because they grow best in humid environments. You’ll also need to decide where to put your plants. If you have some available space, you could put your plants in pots. If you don’t, you could use a window box to grow your plants.

Manage the Humidity

If you reside in a humid region, the summer heat might be amplified by the humidity. A dehumidifier won’t lower the temperature in the room, but it will help control the sticky, thick air that makes hot days even more uncomfortable. We typically feel considerably hotter and sweatier in humid weather because humidity slows the pace at which our sweat drains, so investing in a dehumidifier can keep your home more comfortable during the humid months.

Let the Morning and Night Air In

Finally, consider yourself very lucky if you live somewhere where the temperature decreases at night and open the windows before going to bed. Working with the weather outside might help you save money and keep your home cool.

It’s ideal to open doors and windows first thing in the morning and late in the afternoon after the day’s warmest phase has passed. The key is to keep your home’s air flowing. Did you know that air that is flowing is cooler than air that is still? Consider the movement of a breeze through your home. Make sure you have windows open on opposing sides of your house with doors open in between to do this. This will make a breeze, allowing air to freely circulate around your home.