The summertime is mostly difficult for everybody. Summer with high temperatures may have multiple effects on you and your home. The season gets more cruel if you live in a high humidity area. As the temperature rises, our day to day life gets impacted and days start to look really long. We plan our day as per the brightness of the Sun. When the sun is high in the sky we avoid to go out and when we are out we long to go back home.
Home is our one and only relief which gives us a break from scorching heat. If you prepare well for the summer and get your house ready appropriately for the weather, your house will manage to stay a really cool place even at times when everything outside feels like its burning. The good news is that these preemptive measures to ensure that your house is prepared to withstand the heat, are easy and quick to implement. These tricks and recommendations, which range from planting trees and shrubs to sealing your house and installing an advanced air conditioner, will help you stay safe from the scorching summer temperatures. Summer break is finally here â donât let the heat ruin your fun! Letâs look at what steps you can take to prepare your home for this hot season.
1- Inspect and Seal Your Home before Summer
Check for cracks and gaps around windows, doorways, and other openings in your house to ensure that hot air escapes and cool air enters in order to get it ready for the warmer months. By ensuring that your AC system doesn’t run continuously, sealing up these openings helps to keep the chilly air inside while also reducing energy consumption.
The state of your soundproofing should be examined in detail as well. Make sure that insulation is properly installed and sealed inside walls, attics, crawl spaces, or any other areas you may have gone into after winter. Doing so helps to keep hot air out of your home during the summer monthsâproviding a cool and comfortable environment for you and your family.
2- Cooling in Summer: Clean Your Air Conditioning System
Your attempts to keep your family cool should increase as the temperatures begin to rise. Making sure your air conditioning system is clean and maintained is one of the best ways to keep your house comfortable during the sweltering summer months.
To begin, shut off the electricity to your air conditioner and wash the outdoor coils with water. You can also take a vacuum cleaner brush attachment or leaf blower and remove any dirt or debris from the fins. To clean any dirt build-up inside the system, consider using an air conditioner coil cleaner spray. Most home improvement shops, as well as online merchants, carry this product.
Finally, hire an expert to examine your air conditioning system to see if any additional upkeep or repairs are required. This is particularly crucial for older systems because they frequently use more energy and may need more maintenance.
3- Use Window Coverings in Summer
One of the best ways to stop extra heat from entering your house is by using window coverings. To keep your house cooler and prevent your carpets, furnishings, and artwork from fading from the sun’s UV rays, install thick drapery, curtains, and blinds to block direct sunlight from windows. Make sure to place them on your home’s sunny side or on any windows that might receive direct sunlight throughout the day.
Utilising reflective window films on glass surfaces is another helpful technique. These films are available at any hardware shop and will assist in deflecting some of the heat from the sun away from your house.Finally, you can also use awnings or external coverings to protect windows and doors that are continually exposed to direct sunlight during the day. Not only do they provide shade, but they also act as an extra layer of insulation that will help keep valuable cool air inside during summer months.
By doing this, you can save money on energy expenses and lessen discomfort in spaces with big windows or skylights.
4- Invest in Coolers
A great method to beat the heat is to buy coolers for the areas of your home where you spend the most time. When combined with a fan, a decent cooler can lower temperatures by up to 10 degrees. Coolers are a great purchase and are ideal for bedrooms, living rooms, and other areas where you want to unwind and unwind.
How coolers work
Coolers function by removing hot air from the space and forcing it through a wet cushion that has been cooled by water that is kept inside the cooler. The temperature and overall humidity of the air decrease as it travels through this moist pad, making your room feel nice and cold. Plus, they’re quieter and use less energy because they depend on passive cooling.
Additionally, they are perfect for households on a tight budget and those looking to cut back on energy use because they depend on passive cooling with little to no significant energy use or noise. Choosing the best cooler for home is easy if you do a little research before making your purchase. Measure the space for which you are going to use a cooler, talk to the seller and buy according to your need. One more important thing to remember before buying a cooler is ventilation. Using a cooler in a less-ventilated place can make you feel suffocated. Try to keep the windows open if you are using the cooler in a small space.
5- Use Energy-Efficient Lighting in Summer
One more way to keep your home cooler this summer is to switch to energy-efficient lighting. Regular lights produce a lot of heat, but energy-efficient bulbs like LED bulbs don’t contribute as much to rising temperatures. They also last longer and save money on electricity costs, so you can kill two birds with one stone if you switch your old incandescent bulbs to LEDs.
You can also save on electricity by using dimmer switches and motion sensors, so you don’t waste energy leaving the lights on in rooms that aren’t in use. It might not seem like much, but little things like this can eventually add up to big savings on your electric bill!
Just remember that each bulb you install affects the air temperature in your homeâthe more bulbs, the more heat they create. So think of investing in energy-efficient lighting as a smart way of beating the heat while still keeping your house well-lit.
6- Natural Summer Remedy: Plant Trees and Shrubs
Planting trees and shrubs near or around your home is one of the most natural methods to lower the temperature inside and use less air conditioning. In order to keep heat and sunlight away from your walls, windows, and roof, trees and shrubs can serve as natural shields. This can lower your AC costs. Just be sure to pick the right trees and shrubs for the area, and to give them the right amount of water and sunshine.
One of the most natural ways to reduce the need for air conditioning and lower indoor temperatures is to plant trees and shrubs close to or around your house. Trees and bushes can act as natural barriers to keep heat and sunlight away from your walls, windows, and roof. Your AC expenses may go down as a result. Simply choose the appropriate trees and shrubs for the area, and make sure to provide them with the proper quantity of water and sunlight.
You can also consider planting larger trees in strategic places where they can shade windows from direct sunlight during peak summer hours, further helping to regulate temperatures indoors. As an added bonus, they’ll also help cleanse the air of pollutants like dust particles and carbon dioxide by producing oxygenâa double win if you ask us!
7- Save Energy this Summer: Keep unused rooms closed
To keep your home from getting too hot in the summer, it pays to keep unused rooms closed. That way, you can stop the heated air from circulating throughout the house. You should also close all the doors and vents in unused rooms, whether theyâre your guest bedroom or a storage room. This will help you keep the air in your main living area cooler and more comfortable, so that when you do need to use those roomsâlike during summer visitorsâthey donât get too stuffy.
When you close off all these doors and vents, make sure they are completely sealed to prevent outside air from entering through any cracks and making things even hotter. You can use weather stripping or foam insulation to seal the areas around your windows, walls, doors and vents.
If you have a chimney youâre not using during the summer months, be sure to close it up tight so that no outside air is getting in through there. And if youâre using any kind of exhaust fan for cooking or other activities, remember to turn it off when youâre done so that heat doesnât come in through there either.
Taking these steps will help ensure that your home stays cooler during those hot summer days!
8- Making it less Sticky: Use a Dehumidifier
Using a dehumidifier is a great method to keep your house cool this summer. Dehumidifiers aid in lowering humidity levels, which can make your homes feel up to 4-6 degrees colder. Not to mention that they can aid in lowering energy usage because air conditioners operate more effectively when there is less moisture in the air for them to cool.
Dehumidifiers come in all sizes and shapes, from small portable ones for single rooms or condos, all the way up to larger ones for whole-house applications. They have settings that you can adjust so that it’ll work best for your situation.
Dehumidifiers can help prevent the growth of mold and mildew by regulating the relative humidity in your home when used correctly. Just be sure to pay attention to the humidity and temperature settings because if they become too high for an extended period of time, it could wind up heating up your house.
9- Summer Cooking Tips: Cook with proper ventilation
Taking the time to use proper ventilation when you’re cooking can have a big impact on the temperature of your home. Setting up a chimney or exhaust fan is crucial if you want to keep your kitchen cool and your home temperate.
Chimneys draw in air from outside and expel it through the top, which helps regulate heat and prevent smoke from reaching other parts of your home. Exhaust fans work by drawing unwanted air outside, helping with ventilation and keeping your kitchen from getting too hot.
a- Chimney’s Benefits
A chimney circulates hot air away from the cooking area that would otherwise linger, leaving odors and smoke in the kitchen. It also provides a vent for cooking fumes and smoke that could cause potential health issues if allowed to circulate in your home without proper ventilation.
b- Exhaust Fans Advantages
Exhaust fans have powerful suction capabilities, so not only do they get rid of steam but they quickly dissipate any hot air lingering in the kitchen. They are also adjustable, so they can be set at different speeds depending on how much ventilation you need while cooking. Plus, they’re relatively inexpensive to install compared to other cooling measures!
10- Summer Wear: Eat and Wear as per the season
Finally, to fight the heat this summer, you should eat and wear as per the season. This means eating foods that require no cookingâthink salads and sandwichesâand wearing summer clothing made of breathable fabrics like cotton and linen. You don’t want to cook your food indoors, which can make your home even warmer.
Take these summer eating tips into account:
- Replace caffeinated drinks with hydrating iced tea or cold-pressed juice.
- Keep lunch light with salads and sandwiches.
- Use a slow cooker or an Instant Pot to make cool food like soups.
- Avoid deep frying in the summertimeâit can add too much heat in the kitchen.
- Try non-alcoholic mocktails instead of cocktails, which are typically loaded with sugar and calories that won’t keep you cool.
Remember: eating as per the season will help you keep your body temperature cool, so do your best to opt for cool, fresh meals whenever possible!
As you can see, there are a lot of things you can do to prepare your home to fight heat this summer. With just a few simple steps, you can keep your home cooler and more comfortable and save money on your energy bills in the process. Start now and make sure your home is in peak condition when temperatures start to rise. Even small actions, like scheduling regular HVAC maintenance and using energy-efficient lighting, can make a big difference. So this summer, stay prepared and stay cool.
