August always brings the true dog days of summer, when the afternoons are scorching hot and the nights are humid and sticky. The promise of cool fall weather is just around the corner, but (for now, at least) we’re faced with the worst the season can throw at us. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to keep your home cool in the summer—with or without air conditioning.
Some of these may look familiar, as we did discuss the best ways to keep your AC running efficiently a couple of years ago. But let’s dive in to see how you can ensure your home stays comfortable for the entire family as we get through August.
How to Keep Your Home Cool in the Summer Without Air Conditioning
If you’re sick of the summer heat, here are a few ways to keep your home cool without the power of AC:
1. Control your own body temperature. In our article on ways to lower your heating bill, we talked a lot about the cost-saving power of regulating your own internal temperature before focusing on your home’s ambient temp.
Well, the same holds true in the heat of the summer: The better you can keep your own body cool, the less you’ll need to do around the home. Some ways to keep yourself nice and cool include:
Stay hydrated. The general recommendation is eight cups of water per day, but drinking even more on the hottest days will help.
Place a cool, wet compress around your neck. Keeping that compress around your neck and up against the carotid arteries can help cool your entire body.
Take a cold bath or shower. This is a great way to fight off the heat, especially at the end of a long day in the summer sun.
2. Draw your curtains. The extra shade will help block out the sun during the hottest parts of the day. The only caveat: Research shows the best shades for keeping the home cool are those with a neutral tone and white plastic backing that reflects the heat away from the house.
3. Turn on the exhaust fan in the kitchen and the bathroom. These fans are designed to draw out hot, humid air, and keeping them on should help get rid of the excessive heat during the worst parts of the day.
4. Close the doors to unused rooms. Keeping these doors closed will help you retain the cool air you’ve created from everything else you do!
5. Cook in the morning (or outside). If you’ve ever tried to cook anything in the oven or on the stove in the middle of the summer, you know exactly how hot the kitchen can get.
To prevent this, try one of these strategies:
Cook in the cooler morning hours. Cooking up your favorite lasagna in the morning means you’ll just need to pop it in the microwave before you enjoy it for dinner. And speaking of…
Rely on your microwave whenever possible. Your microwave keeps its heat focused inside the appliance, which means it won’t influence the ambient temperature throughout the rest of the home.
Cook outside on a grill. Cooking on the grill means all of the heat generated while cooking stays outside!
6. Get the air circulating. This will ensure that the hot, humid air doesn’t hang unbearably in your home. Some things you can do:
Keep your ceiling fans spinning counterclockwise. This will help push the hot air out of the home.
Create a cross breeze. For a truly effective cross breeze, close the doors to unused rooms and open the windows on opposite sides of the house. Setting up box fans to blow the air out of the house can assist in moving the air throughout the home.
Stick to cross breezes in the morning and night. This will ensure your home gets the coolest air during the day, and then you can focus on keeping the hot air out during the hottest parts of the day!
How to Keep Your Home Cool in the Summer With Air Conditioning
Air conditioning is great, but we can always make it run a little more efficiently. But first, let’s understand how an AC unit actually works.
In the simplest terms, your AC unit works by removing heat and humidity from the air outside and then pumping cool air into your home. Anything you can do to support the AC in this effort will help you stay cool and reduce costs!
With that in mind, here are some ways to make your AC more efficient:
1. Check your vents. If you have central AC, be sure your vents are open, and run the vacuum hose over them to suck out any excess dirt or dust. After that, be sure none of your vents are blocked or covered by furniture! Same deal if you have a window unit: Keep furniture out of the way so it can better distribute the air.
2. Supplement the AC with a fan. Placing a fan near your window unit or a vent can help distribute that cold air throughout the house, cooling you down even further.
3. Ventilate your ducts. If you have central air, sealing and ventilating your ductwork will help prevent any cold air from leaking out.
4. Close the door and vents in unused rooms. If you have a spare guest room or powder room that hardly gets used, keep it closed so the cool air can be distributed in the most-used areas of your home.
5. Have your AC unit serviced regularly. If you have central air, call an HVAC technician to give it a tune-up each year. Pro Tip: Call your technician in the spring or early summer to avoid the big rush of service calls throughout the hottest months.
Enhance Your Home Even Further
While you’re thinking about ways to make your home more efficient, don’t miss our blogs on home maintenance! Our guides are designed to help you keep your home in perfect shape all year long.
If you have questions, contact us! Email us directly at theblocks@blocksintheburgh.com.
Cheers,
Julie & Ted