How to keep your house cool during the summer

We’re not sure if you’ve noticed, but it’s gotten rather hot this summer. And as a nation, we’re just not very good at dealing with it.

We’re unprepared. It’s a shock to the system. We’re out of our element. It’s hot. Really, really hot.

We need to react intelligently to the heat and we need to do so now, because while there’s few things better than having some cold beers in the sunshine, overheating, discomfort and restless nights simply aren’t fun.

So, with that in mind, here’s our guide to the top five ways to keep your house cool during the summer months.

1. Keep the curtains closed and the windows shut

We know, we know, having the sunshine lighting up your home is one of life’s many joys and keeping your house in relative darkness while the sunshine sparkles outside just feels wrong.

But just as having the window open in cold weather is the quickest way to leave you shivering, opening them up on a warm day is a sure-fire way of warming up your home in no time at all.

2. Open them up on a night though

However, the goods news here is that you can open your windows up on a night to let in the cooler air, that is assuming you or someone else is also up to ensure you don’t put your belongings at risk.

Ideally, we should be out enjoying ourselves in this kind of weather and this allows you to come home to a nice cool house when it’s all said and done.

3. Get creative with fans

You might not be able to get air conditioning, but fans are fairly affordable. While having one directly in front of your face might be tempting, it’s actually better to get strategic with your fan placements.

If you position them in the right parts of the room, say, one by the window and another further in the room, you can create a cross breeze for a longer lasting cooling sensation.

4. Switch off your appliances

Of course, with the exception of appliances like fans, which aim to keep you cool, you would be amazed at just how much all our appliances contribute to heating up our homes.

All the things we have switched on all produce heat, and while we might not notice it all the time, it is there. During hot weather, this can make a significant difference. So, if it’s electronic and you’re not using it, turn it off.

5. Focus on your internal heat

We know this is about keeping your house cool, but really the aim of doing all this is to keep your body feeling cool. There’s a variety of different things you can do to keep your internal temperature more manageable in the heat.

For example, it’s important to eat lightly in order to avoid increasing your internal temperature by pushing your metabolism. There’s also studies to show that spicy food can actually be beneficial.

Plus, no one wants to stand over a hot stove in this heat. What we’re saying is, it might be the ideal time to perfect that spicy Indian salad recipe, perhaps after taking a cool shower and putting on some appropriate summer clothes.

If you can’t get your home as cool as you’d like it, you should be able to get yourself to the right temperature with these simple tips.