5 Tips To Keep Your House Cool in Summers

Summertime may bring many wonderful things but the extreme heat is not one of them. For many, using air conditioning is not affordable nor available. Here are some tips for keeping your house cool in the summer heat, with or without AC. We use these techniques in steamy South Carolina to reduce our air conditioning bill. Scroll down to see 5 ways to keep house cool without AC.

* Dehumidify

If you live in an area with dry heat your body perspires, your sweat evaporates, and you cool off – just the way nature intended. If you live in an area with lots of humidity (which I do) you sweat and it doesn't evaporate. Instead it soaks your clothes leaving you feeling hot, wet, sticky, and miserable.

* Unplug

Everything you plug into a socket produces heat. Unplug all unnecessary appliances or electronics when not in use. Even those little red glowing lights that stare at you in the middle of the night indicating the item is turned off drain energy and produce heat. Turning something off is not enough – unplug

* Use Natural Light and High Efficiency Lighting

Take advantage of daylighting or use energy efficient light bulbs, such as LEDs, in your high use areas. A traditional 1oo watt light bulb can increase the heat by 11 degrees per hour in a small room.

* Don't Cook or Cook Outdoors

During the summer months, try to pre-plan meals so that you don't need to use the oven during the day. Either cook on the grill, in a microwave, or in a crock pot. If you have to use the oven, try to cook your meal before noon or after the heat of the day. I would suggest around 4 pm.

* Close your blinds from late morning until early evening

“Let the Sun Shine In” is a cute song for children, but not helpful for keeping your home cool. Close your blinds from late morning until early evening. This simple act can keep a room 10-15 degrees cooler.

You can purchase blackout shades, use window tint film on your windows (easy to install), or good blinds. If covering your windows during the day makes it too dark, you can lower the top of your shades 6″ from the top of the window to let light in but not the heat.