Staying Chill in the Hottest of Days: Tips for Keeping Your Home Cool During a Heatwave

It looks like very hot summers are here to stay. The effects of global warming take a very long time to reverse. Since hot summers are not going away for now, knowing how to keep a house cool is important. Running the air conditioning all day and night is a very expensive option, both in terms of electricity consumption and wear on the unit. It also increases the carbon footprint of your home and adds to planetary warming. There are some inexpensive ways to keep your home cool in summer that are simple and environmentally friendly.

• Keep the blinds closed and curtains drawn during those hours when sunlight is coming through. You don’t want to sit in gloomy darkness, but using electric lighting will add to your utility bills and is also not environmentally friendly. Find a balance between keeping the sun and heat out and having enough light indoors.
• Plant trees and tall shrubs in the garden in places where they will block the entry of the summer sun into the house.
• Use a whole house fan to blow hot air out of the house and bring down the air conditioning load.
• Place a bowl full of ice in front of a fan to blow cool air all around the room.

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Also Read: How to Save Big on A/C Costs This Summer

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• If you are still using incandescent bulbs, (they are called by this name because they give off a lot of heat), replace them with LED bulbs that stay cool.
• Minimize the use of microwaves, washing machines, dishwashers and other large appliances – they all give off heat.
• Dress for the heat, even indoors. Wear light cotton clothes – you will be surprised at the difference this makes.
• Install skylights. Tubular skylights are efficient and do not allow heat to enter the house. One of the reasons many people do not install skylights in their homes is because they think that the skylight will allow more heat to enter. This is only partly correct. A good skylight, from a leading manufacturer like Solatube, will not only make the interior brighter, but it will also help in keeping it cooler. Here’s why:
  • The skylights are made with low emissivity glass which blocks most of the UV light.
  • High-efficiency dual pane glass ensures thermally efficient homes.
  • Heat and cold transfer are reduced due to the use of integrated barriers.
  • Skylight shades are available to filter the amount of sunlight entering the house.
  • A SoftLight glass option allows only gentle diffused daylight to enter.
  • Solar-powered openable models are available to allow the cool outside air to enter the home at its highest points, where the heat collects and also allows hot air to escape. This will reduce heat dispersal over the whole structure. Remote control operation makes opening and closing easy.
  • A rain sensor will automatically close the skylight when it rains to stop water from getting in.

Contact a Solatube dealer to find out more about skylights and the quick and clean installation process. If you already have a skylight but it does not meet the criteria given here, find out about the skylight replacement service.

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