Tips for Keeping Your House Cool in the Summer

Posted by Sally Wilkinson on November 22nd, 2016

The temperatures are slowly rising so this means that the interior of your home is soon going to become sweltering. Of course the easiest way to keep your house cool is to have the air conditioner running. If you do have one, however, you know just how much it can cost to have it working all day. If you are looking to minimize your costs while cooling down your home, you will be glad to know that it can be done. Here are some ingenious tips for you to follow during the hotter months:

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Keep Your House Shut

The natural tendency is to keep all of the doors and windows wide open during the day. This is so that you can usher a cool breeze inside. Unless the wind is blowing enough to cool the area, it is a good idea to keep the house shut up. Make sure that there is no heat or humidity entering through windows or doors. In addition to keeping the windows closed, you should also consider having blinds on all of these openings. By reducing the amount of sunlight that enters the house, you are automatically allowing the inside to be cooler. Prior to leaving the house for a long period of time, make sure that these blinds are drawn.

Use Ventilation

Now that you have kept the house locked up tight during the day, it is time to air it out at night. As you can imagine, the temperature is a lot lower during the summer nights. To take advantage of this, you should turn on the exhaust fans in your house, wherever they may be. In addition to help clear the surrounding air, these fans have another use as well. What they do is take the hot air from inside the house and pull it outside. Therefore, your house will feel a lot cooler. You should try this method particularly after the temperature inside has been raised due to cooking or a hot shower. You will be able to notice the difference almost immediately.

Minimize Appliance Use

All electrical appliances give some form of heat or other. In fact, the bigger the appliance the more heat that it radiates. As you are trying to lower the interior temperature, the last thing you want is to have these machines reverse the effect. This is why it is a good idea to turn off and unplug the appliances that you do not need. Also, you should restrict the use of the others to the night time. You will then be less affected by the heat. This includes the washing machine and dishwasher. If possible, try to limit using your oven as this can cause whole sections of the house, especially the kitchen to heat up.

Use Ice

If you want a cheaper alternate for air conditioning, you can try ice and fans. You can use ice packs, bowls of iced water, or containers filled with ice. Place these in front of the blades. This way, when the air blows, it is hitting the ice, chilling the air. This air is then spread across the room.

These are a few interesting ways to help keep your home more comfortable during the summer months.