It’s not often were lucky enough to have such glorious weather but with the sun’s rays beating down upon us over the last couple of weeks and the mercury on the rise within the thermometer, forecasters are predicting one of the hottest few months on record this summer. We’ve previously written an article on how to keep warm during winter and thankfully it’s now time to cover ways to keep cool, so read on for 6 ways to keep your home cool without the need for air conditioning.

Open Up

It may be obvious but open up your doors, windows and skylights to let the heat out and cooler air in. This is most effective during the evening, night and early morning before and after the heat of the day. If possible and only where your homes security will not be affected, leave your windows open throughout the night allowing the hot air out and cool air in, watch out for those pesky mosquitoes and little insects though!

Shutter Up

It’s a shame to have to do so but heat exhaustion can be very serious, so if your home has window shutters then make the most of them, and if not, like most of us in the UK then use blackout curtains, venetian blinds or just your normal curtains to block out the sun during mid to late afternoon when the suns at its strongest.

Avoid Cooking

We’ll it’s probably time to start a diet anyway, and what better time to start then as the hot weather begins and we’re bringing out our skimpy summer clothes. Try to reduce or avoid cooking using the stove or oven, making lighter meals using the toaster, microwave or even by simply eating a fresh salad or sandwich. You may even decide to dig out the barbecue and cook outside, although doing this each day won’t help much with the diet!

It’s Sweltering

We hear it year in, year out “it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity” and even though the UK’s climate isn’t very humid, it’s true, humidity is known to make you feel stickier and warm than it really is. So by reducing the moisture in the air you will reduce the humidity making you feel cooler and more comfortable. Some of us may have fancy dehumidifiers but for those that don’t and even those that do, there are several ways to reduce the humidity within your home. Try doing the laundry, washing up or running the dishwasher late at night or early in the morning, also take showers at night or again early in the morning to reduce humidity from water evaporation. The same goes for your garden, water it late at night so that the water gets chance to soak into the ground and benefit the plants, not evaporating and adding to the humidity levels in and around your home.

Be Reflective

It may be a bit extreme and might not even come to this with many long term weather predictions being incorrect anyway, but you can further reduce heat build-up within your home using a combination of reflective paints and window films on your south and west facing walls and windows, reducing the suns penetration into your home.

Air Circulation

Almost as important as opening up your exterior doors and windows is keeping your internal doors open so that the air can circulate between the rooms. Some modern homes have air circulation systems installed but for the vast majority of us without such modern features, simply grab each and every one of your internal door handles pulling them down and opening each door throughout your home.