In the height of summer, your house becomes a retreat from the sun, offering respite and shade. But sometimes you need more than shade. Humid summers can bring indoor temperatures to unbearable levels and those without air conditioning often summer.
But there are alternative methods to bring the temperature in your house or apartment down and make it a bastion of respite in the warmer months. These are seven alternative ways to cool down a room without using an air conditioning unit.
Improve Your Fan
Most people have fans, but they can only go so far. At high enough temperatures, fans feel like they are simply blowing warm air onto your face, exacerbating the problem and causing severe discomfort.
You can improve your fan’s performance by filling a bowl with ice and water and placing it behind the fan. The fan will draw in the cooler air and dispel it around the room, creating a faux air conditioning unit and bringing the temperature down to manageable levels.
Cool Your Sheets
If you struggle to drift off in the warm summer evenings, you can cool your sheets. Place them in the freezer in a plastic bag a few minutes before bedtime. Then, when you come to get into bed, you have a chilled layer of cotton separating you from the heat. It won’t last all night, but it should give you enough respite to drop off to sleep.
Be Smart with Your Windows
The sun glaring through the glass of the window will quickly warm any room. This is why it is essential to be smart with your windows when it comes to bringing the room temperature down.
Close the blinds or curtains to stop the sun coming in. Or, go one step further and invest in home window tinting on panes that receive a lot of suns. Simply reducing the amount of sunlight coming into your home through the windows can bring the temperature down by up to 20 degrees. It is a small action that has significant results.
Close Off Unused Rooms
If you aren’t using a room, close the door. This will prevent cool air from entering these rooms and keep it concentrated in the parts of the home you are actually using.
Unplug Heat Sources
In extreme weather, every little detail helps bring the temperature down. Unplugging your tv, turning off lights, and keeping your laptop off will prevent the warmth produced by these electronic devices from adding to the inferno outside.
Switch to Cotton
In the summer, cotton bed sheets are the best way to keep cool at night. Flannel and fleece sheets are better for the winter months when you could do with the extra insulation. Cotton is breathable and will allow more air to permeate the sheet and reach your body.
For pillows, buckwheat pillows are optimal for hot weather. They have a naturally occurring gap between the hulls which allows warm air to disperse instead of getting trapped under your head.
Be Strategic with Windows
Opening the top section of windows on the downwind section of your house and the bottom section on the upwind side will help improve airflow and channel cool air through the property. For an added source of cool air, hang a wet sheet in front of a second open window will help cool the air coming into the property.
