10 tips to keep your home cool during summer

There’s a reason many Mediterranean homes feature smaller windows and shutters – they're designed to keep the heat out. Admittedly, the UK rarely reaches the scorching temperatures of our European neighbours, but when our heat rises, you can apply the same logic to your home. 

Where possible, keep blinds and curtains closed. Black-out versions can provide extra protection, so it might be worth investing in your window dressing. 

Did you know almost all electrical appliances let off a small amount of heat during usage? It’s a fact many of us overlook when trying to cool down, but it can be a contributing factor to your home’s temperature. Small appliances won’t produce enough heat to make a dramatic difference. But there are some appliances, that’s sole purpose is to generate heat, that you should avoid using.

These include: 

• oven
• microwave
• tumble dryer
• hairdryer

As mentioned before, you want to keep as much outside heat out of your home as possible by closing windows and shutting blinds during the day. However, the opposite is true when night falls. 

As the temperature naturally drops, it’s the perfect time to open your windows and curtains to allow cooler air to circulate around your home. 

If you have rooms that don’t get used often, they can have a massive impact on the overall temperature of your home. Unused spaces will store more heat and waft it through the rest of your home without you noticing. 

To avoid this, close off all your unused rooms and keep as many doors closed as possible during the day. That way, you can focus on cooling the rooms you used while not being affected by the heat in other areas of your home. 

Another way to cool down your home is to use ice alongside your fan. It might look a little strange, but it can be a highly effective way to cool the air in a room quickly. 

For the best results, position a shallow bowl of ice, ice packs or a frozen hot water bottle behind your fan. This will spread the cool moisture through the air and cool the room.

It’s a little-known fact that some types of lighting, particularly incandescent lights, produce a large amount of heat. Swapping your lightbulbs for an LED alternative will have an enormous impact on the temperature of your home. If you can’t replace your current lighting, don’t panic, just avoid turning those lights on during particularly hot weather. 

If you need the lights on as you have the curtains shut to block out the heat from the sun, then try smaller lamps with LED bulbs to keep the temperature to a minimum.

As discussed before, you should try to keep your windows closed as much as possible during the daytime. However, sometimes we all need to feel the sweet relief of a breeze. So, if you really need to open your windows, make sure you create a flow of air throughout your home. 

You can achieve this by opening windows or doors at opposite ends of your home or room, allowing air to circulate freely. You can also try pointing a fan at an open window, this will push the warm air outside, but try to keep your curtains or blinds closed or partially opened to avoid heat from the sun.

Whilst the weather is hot, you might want to consider swapping your polyester sheets for a more breathable option, like cotton. Lighter coloured bedsheets can also keep you a little cooler during the night, as they tend to not absorb heat as much as their darker counterparts. 

The position of your fan plays a vital role in their performance. The natural instinct is to place the fan right in front of you, ensuring a direct breeze. However, that isn’t the most effective use of your electric fan. 

For the best results, place your fan in a window or hallway, so you can create a cross breeze that draws in cool air from outside and pushes out the warmer air. 

As we all know, your bathroom fan and kitchen hob extractor work to remove bad smells and circulate air. However, they can be useful in times of extreme heat. Turning on your bathroom and kitchen fans can drag warm air that rises and push it out of your home.