While summers are pleasant in some parts of the world, most of the earth’s population feels uncomfortable just by the mention of this sweltering season. Air Conditioners are a must with growing number of people now. It seems to be the only respite as the mercury soars higher than bearable. But the air conditioners also come with a huge burden on our pockets as they consume lots of costly energy. Due to lots of energy consumption, they also become bad for the environment and they also emit greenhouse gases that lead to a warmer earth. So here are a few smart ways to cool your home without air conditioning to save your money and the planet.
12 Genius Ways to Cool Your Home Without Air ConditionerÂ
Draw The Shades
You can prevent the hot sunrays from heating your room by simply preventing them access through drawing the shades of your windows, or shutting your windows. You may also install reflecting film on the outside on your windows if you have glass windows. This shall also reduce warming of the room.
Plant Houseplants Outside Windows
Keeping a houseplant outside the windows would not just help provide fresh oxygen and add beauty to your décor, but also provide shade by absorbing the sunrays that would have otherwise entered your room. These house plants would stop sunrays in the summers, and during winters as the leaves fall off, they will allow the sun to warm your room.
Open The Windows At Night
Places that experience sunny days often experience cool breeze after sundown. So, it would be a good idea to keep your windows open then and enjoy cool natural winds. This would also lower the humidity inside the house. But remember to shut the windows in the late morning.
Create Icy Fan Breeze
A good way to turn a simple stand fan or a table fan’s air cool is to place a jar of ice in front of it. As the air passes over the ice, it would get laden with the coldness and blow it over to you. This can feel heavenly in summers. Use a large mouthed vessel.
Ditch Incandescent Bulbs
Incandescent bulbs have reduced a lot in common usage, but many still use them. They not just consume lots of electricity as compared to CFLs and LED lights, but also generate heat. A simple swap from incandescent to LED or CFL may reduce your house’s heat a lot.
Wear Comfortable & Loose Clothing
While this is a very common thing people do, many still use silky clothes during summers for wearing and using as bed sheet. Wearing loose cotton clothes will help absorb sweat and allow your body to lose heat through perspiration. Dress down when you are at home to shorts and a light coloured t-shirt.
Eat & Drink Cool Edibles
When you are cool from within, you are less likely to look for external cooling agents like the air conditioner. The best way to cool from within is to eat fruits and drink cooling drinks like juices, ice tea etc.
Set Your Ceiling Fans Counter-Clockwise
Most modern fans come with a setting to change their rotation direction. A clockwise rotating fan would spread the hot air around and send it downwards which is suitable for winters. During summers, it is ideal to set it to rotate counter-clockwise. Thus they will draw up the warm air from the room and let cool air circulate.
Avoid Stove & Oven
Stoves and ovens generate a lot of heat. They make not just standing in the kitchen unbearable, but also create discomfort for housemates away from the kitchen. To avoid such heat, it is good to avoid cooking using these appliances. Use a microwave or a grill instead. Or better yet, go for meals that require no heating such as eating sandwiches and salads.
Use Exhaust Fans
We usually have exhaust fans in our kitchens and bathrooms to get rid of smoke and bad odour, but these exhaust fans can also drive away warm air. Keep them on. You can also make your table fans act as exhaust fans by facing them towards the door.
Apply Cold Compress
Our bodies have pulse points that get warm easily such as the wrists, behind the knees, elbows, necks etc. If you apply cold compress at these points it would give you great relief from heat and this would help cool your whole body fast too.
Put Your Mattress On The Floor
It is a natural law that the warm air rises up due to low pressure and during summers you can use this law to your advantage by avoiding high beds and cots and placing your mattress as close to the ground as possible. Many people like sleeping on the floor in summers as the floors are colder.
