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Tips to Keep your Home Cool this Summer

As we all know summer in Australia is very, very hot. With average daily temperatures of around 30 degrees, most people will do anything they can to get out of the heat. As a builder we understand the importance of energy efficiency in the home. Rather than leaving your air conditioning on throughout the entire summer, here are a few ‘green’ tips for keeping your home a little cooler during the hot summer months!

Keep the Blinds Closed

A surprising 30 percent of unwanted heat in a house actually comes from leaving the blinds open. The constant sunlight acts as a miniature greenhouse inside your own home and can raise its temperature dramatically.

Change your Sheets

A seasonal change of bed sheets can help prevent heat buildup in your bedroom. Fabrics like flannel and fleece are good insulators, which means they hold heat in very well. That’s ideal for colder seasons, but during the summer, it’s a good idea to swap to cotton or silk sheets. These breathe better and regulate your body temperature for warm weather much easier.

Cool the Person

If you’ve done everything you can and your house is still too hot, there’s no reason you have to be hot too! Use tricks like sitting in front of a fan, drinking an iced beverage, or putting a damp cloth on areas of your body with a strong pulse; such as your neck and wrist!

Let Air Flow at Night

During the day, keep the doors of your house closed so that the cooler air you do have, doesn’t diffuse throughout your home. At night, when it cools off, it’s a good idea to open doors and allow the colder air to circulate and hopefully make your home cooler for the next day!

Cook Outdoors

Using a stove, or especially an oven during the summer, will make your house hot and your kitchen unbearable. Experiment with making cold food, or use your BBQ to cook! This will keep your home cool and is always a great way to enjoy those beautiful, balmy summer evenings.

Change Incandescent Lights

Although incandescent lights have a softer quality to them that a lot of people like, they also produce a lot more heat than LED or fluorescent fixtures. Try replacing incandescent bulbs with fluorescent ones. Use only these new bulbs during the day if you can’t or don’t want to replace them all!

We hope these tips help you stay even cooler this summer!