6 Eco-Friendly Ways to Keep Your Home Cool in the Summer

For many, summer months mean spending a lot of time outdoors, keeping cool on the beach or next to a swimming pool. Then there are those who don’t live near the beach and don’t have a pool, or who live in areas that get so hot that going out at midday is out of the question. So, how can you keep your indoors nice, cool and comfortable?

Our homes provide us with comfort and shelter from the harsh weather, but keeping cool in summer can become as expensive as the usual and most obvious solution is to turn up the air conditioning. However, that doesn’t have to be and isn’t the only solution. Here are some eco-friendly alternatives that will help you stay cool in your home during those hot summer months.

1. Windows

The easiest thing to do is to shut the doors, close the windows, and let the AC do the work. However, windows themselves can function as a sophisticated system and do the magic on their own. They can help keep your home cooler and control the rising heat in your home through some simple tricks and additions.

Having double glazed windows is the perfect solution for both cold and hot months. They will prevent both hot and cold air from coming in, and help maintain the ideal indoor temperature without wasting too much energy. In summer months they can prevent extreme heat from entering your home, and if you add some simple curtains with a white back, they will reflect even more sun away from your home.

Double hung windows are another feature that helps with maintaining optimal temperatures at your home. They allow you to open the bottom section of the upwind side, and the upper part of the downwind side. This will cause the low pressure to suck the air through your home, creating a nice small draft.

Shutters or external blinds are another way to keep the unwanted heat outside. This addition is very simple to install, and it will provide your home with ventilation and shading at the same time.

2. Ceiling Fans

Ventilating your rooms does not only keep the air fresh, but the moving air will also evaporate the moisture from your skin which will help to keep you cooler. Installing ceiling fans will do the trick in a more eco-friendly way as they use less electricity, sparing you the high bills of an AC unit.

Most ceiling fans have two different settings – clockwise and counter-clockwise. The counter-clockwise setting is the one you need for the summer months, as it is the one that will cool your house down. High speeds help cool the indoors, while slower clockwise speed distributes the hot air during winter.

It is also important to keep in mind that ceiling fans function by keeping you cool and not the room itself. Therefore, they should be the turned off when no one is in the room, so that the energy is now wasted.

3. Passive Cooling

We all know that white reflects and black absorbs the heat, so an easy way to have your house absorb less heat from the sun is by painting the roof white or light. These so-called cool roofs will help both your home and the climate change as they reflect the majority of the sun rays away from your home.

With a light colored roof, you will not need to cool the inside of your home as much as before, as it will not absorb a lot of heat. This also means that you will use less electricity and energy than before.

Earth tubes and solar chimneys are two more systems of passive cooling that can are very easy to install, that help you cool your home naturally, as well as help you save money on electricity bills. Earth tubes make use of the cool air in the ground, beneath your home, and solar chimneys absorb or reflect the heat, depending on the need.

4. Important Installations

There are a few simple installations you can add to your house that will significantly help your energy-saving, eco-friendly cooling tactics.

Firstly, insulation is used for the summer times as well as in winter. It prevents loss of cold air or heat, demanding less energy for heating and cooling and saving you money along the way.

Secondly, we all know by now that incandescence light bulbs are eco-friendly since they use less electricity. Another plus is that these LED lights do not get warm. Therefore, they do not contribute to raising the heat in your home as old light bulbs do, so using them is the perfect solution.

Thirdly and lastly, use space fillers and patches. They may seem insignificant at first glance, but they also play a role in maintaining indoor temperatures. They will close any holes and leaks, keeping the cool air inside, leading to more efficient cooling.

5. Grow Some Greens

There is nothing more eco-friendly than planting a tree. If you are just starting off in the planting process, it might take some time for you to reap the benefits that trees have to offer for your home, but more trees will help our planet and its generations to come.

Having big trees around your home will create loads of shade in the summer, and plants will create a cooling effect as the wind breeze will pick up humidity and cool the area around. Growing vines on your wall is another way to create this environmental transpiration effect, as well as insulation.

6. Keep It Simple

In the summer you can choose your cooking times appropriately. By choosing to eat fresher during the day and do the cooking in the evenings, you will avoid creating additional heat in your home when the sun is at its strongest. Cooking outside is another way to go.

Apart from that, during the summer, nature is also quick to dry your washing. Therefore, there is no need to use the dryer. Just by thinking logically about how you are using certain appliances, you will avoid unnecessary heat accumulating in your home.

Summertime is time for fun in the sun, but it can become uncomfortably hot when staying indoors. Therefore, these eco-friendly cooling tips can help you stay cool at a lower cost. These ways of cooling your home are not only simple and easy to introduce into your everyday life, but they are also energy-saving and money-saving solutions.

This post is brought to you by the team at Harper Special Services, water damage restoration service company in Savannah, GA.