Indeed, when the summer heat beats down, you will look for any and all ways of keeping yourself and your home cool. While the modern day tendencies would be to resort to ACs and coolers, these have a bad impact on the environment, in terms of carbon footprint, not to mention more power consumption as well. So, perhaps, there is a need to look around for easier, as well as eco-friendly ideas to keep our homes and in turn ourselves cool. Here is a list of few things that you can check out to see what all works best for you.
Lighting
Lighting other than, LEDs or CFLs can heat up the room more than is required. Hence, it is better to switch to these options, if you have not already done so. These can also help you save on power consumption as well.
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Unplug unused devices
Well, this may be news to you, but all electrical devices, emit heat if they are plugged in, even if they are idle and not being used. Hence, check all devices in your home that are not being used and unplug them and plug them only when you need to use them. This can also reduce some level of heat in your home. It is also a good idea to use the washing machine, iron, or ovens during the cooler parts of the day, early on in the morning or later during the evening, rather than when the sun is at its peak. In fact, cooking also generates a certain amount of heat and the kitchen can turn warm, so you may want to check out if you can avoid cooking during this time and finish it early on.
Use curtains that can breathe
For the whole house, you may want to use light, pastel-coloured cotton curtains that can breathe and will also help keep the room cool. If you have balconies, especially where the sun beats down, then you can choose to use some bamboo, or jute based screens during summers. These can act as eco-friendly coolers to keep away the heat. Keep them drawn during the day and you can pull them up at night to allow the cool breeze to come in. The same policy can be followed with your windows, wherein you may keep them open all across for cross ventilation in the early morning as well as late evening only, when the air is cool. They should be closed, as the heat starts coming in when the sun comes up.
DIY Eco-friendly coolers
Are you a DIY (Do It Yourself) fan, who likes to get going and create useful things, especially from stuff that is available around the house? Then, perhaps, it’s time you checked out YouTube for videos for DIY eco-friendly coolers. There are many simple videos with clear instructions on making eco-friendly coolers that one can make from things lying around at home. They are also not complicated and can be made easily.
Reflect the heat
If you have a terrace, then there is a great likelihood that it can get heated up because of the heat absorption during the day and emit this heat, back into your house at night. There are many ways to reflect this heat from troubling you. You can paint the terrace areas white so that the heat is not absorbed so much. You can choose to cover it up with, so space can also be used productively for something. If you have a terrace garden going, then that can also help in reducing the heat, as the greenery helps. You may have to redo this every year for better effect as it wears off.
The ice
Many people resort to using a table fan along with a ceiling fan to combat the heat during the summer. There is a small trick that you can try along with the table fan to get it to work kind of like a cooler. You can place a big bowl of ice in front of the fan so that the air that it blows around becomes cooler, giving you a cooler effect. Just make sure to place another bigger bowl if required to catch any leaks due to the ice melting.
What tricks do you use to beat the heat? Share your ideas with us!
