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So you want to keep your house cool in summer

House cool in summer tips

An excessively warm home can be incredibly uncomfortable in the summer months. This can make it hard to go about your everyday life, from cooking to working, and it can be hard on pets and children. Here are some ways to keep your house cool in summer. Even if the temperature is rising, you don’t have to suffer.

Keep windows shut

When it gets hot inside the home, it’s tempting to throw the windows open, but this could actually have the opposite effect and let warm air into your home. During the day, keep windows closed, but if you need some fresh air, open the tops of windows at opposite ends of the house to let a breeze through.

At night, if it’s safe to do so, open windows and air out the house. The cool breeze is great if you’re feeling warm during pregnancy or simply because it’s a hot night and are tired of being unable to sleep because of overheating.

Insulate your property

While people associate insulating your property with keeping it cozy in the winter, insulation also helps cool your home in the summer. Foil insulation helps deflect the sun’s rays and protects your home from the heat so that it stays cooler.

That’s why it’s always worth investing in good insulation. It serves a purpose year-round.

Service your air conditioner

As HVAC systems get older, they tend to get less efficient, so you end up running them on high just to cool your home. This is a waste of money and bad for the environment. Comfort All-Stars offer air conditioning repair and maintenance, so if your system isn’t running well, get it checked over and serviced before a heatwave hits.

A simple tune-up with a cleaning and new air filter will often get your system working to a higher standard. There are other maintenance tips for A/C units too.

Use your green thumb

Plants and greenery can be good at cooling your home. They naturally release moisture into the air to cool your home.

A few plants around the house can give your home a calm, tropical feel. If you always manage to kill your houseplants, bowls of water have the same effect, although they don’t look as nice.

Get energy-efficient to keep the house cool in summer

Running too many appliances and keeping lights on can raise the temperature of your property. You should ensure you aren’t wasting energy at home, by avoiding common behaviors such as fridge loitering, leaving unused appliances switched on, and closing vents. The more energy-efficient your home, the better it will be at temperature regulation, and you’ll save money too.

Chill your bedsheets

During particularly bad heatwaves, you may find it hard to sleep at night. However, you can make your bedroom a more pleasant place to be by chilling your bedsheets, so you get a cool, fresh feeling when you slip into bed.

Chilled bedsheets can keep you cool long enough to get to sleep, which can reduce heatwave-related insomnia. You can also buy pillows that stay cool, even when it’s hot, so you don’t wake up with a sweaty face.

Keeping your house cool in summer isn’t always easy, as you no doubt don’t want to end up with a huge electric bill for your air conditioning. However, there are a few tricks you can use to cool your home, so that you can rely on your HVAC system less, and save money.

10 thoughts on “So you want to keep your house cool in summer”

  1. Sarah Matheson

    Thanks for the post Christy!

    Just a few more ideas for your readers :)

    – Clean the filters on portable or window ac units (dust build-up isn’t good!)
    – Tower fans super energy efficient – they work well as a secondary cooling unit
    – For HVAC systems, check for leaks or holes in the ducts

    Hopefully one of these is helpful to someone!

  2. Sound advice Christy, I’ve built a small cold air blower for this summer,I haven’t tried it yet but fingers crossed.

    1. Hey Pete, that’s impressive you built a cold air blower. Given we’re spending more time indoors than before with COVID-19, staying comfortable is more more important than ever. I hope it helps you.

  3. I love that point about insulation. It is definitely not just for heating, although that’s a natural enough assumption. It greatly helps with cooling as well. What an awesome post. Thanks for sharing!

    1. I like the warm days better than the cold ones too, Michael! I hope you’re doing okay given everything happening in the world. Stay safe, my friend.

  4. I found a fabulous way to assist the process of keeping the house cool, Christy. I invested in solar exhaust fans in the roof. I was looking at installing the wind assisted exhaust fans. However, when searching online I came across the solar style.. Voila, five degrees cooler, at least.
    Naturally, this works so well for me living in ‘mostly’ sunny Australia. But, wow; the difference is phenomenal… and after the initial outlay, it’s free. Thank You Sun!

    1. Wow, Carolyn! That’s amazing about the solar exhaust fans you put into the house. Australia is known for its heat so I can imagine those fans provide amazing relief. Excellent!

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