Spring has sprung and the summer is finally here.
The days are getting longer, and the weather is getting warmer, which can present a new challenge in the home.
We spend so long trying to keep warm and dry during the winter that we often forget how difficult it can be to keep the house cool during the summer months.
This often has us digging fans out of the loft or even investing in air conditioning. But before you start reaching out for solutions that are likely to impact your electricity usage, and therefore your energy bills, here are some ways you can cool your home naturally, without the need for electricity.
Blinds
South facing windows in particular will get an awful lot of sunlight during the day.
The glass in your window will amplify the heat from the sun, making it warmer in your home. This might be welcome in the winter but in the summer, it can make the air temperature unbearable.
A simple solution to this problem is to install blinds, particularly within south facing windows. These can be adjusted simply to ensure your home gets light, but that the heat is reflected away from the house.
Create natural shade
It is possible to strategically plant deciduous trees to provide much-needed shade to south facing windows.
In the winter, these trees will be bare, allowing the light into your home, but in the summer, their leaves will be out, providing an attractive canopy that will protect your home from the sun’s hot rays.
Open the windows at night
It might seem counter-intuitive, but opening windows and doors during the day can actually make your home warmer than you want it.
Double glazing is wonderfully effective at regulating the temperature inside your home; if the air inside is cool, it will generally stay cool until something warms it up and letting in too much warm air from the outside will do just that.
However, in the evening, when the outside air is cooler, it’s a good idea to open your windows in order to allow the hot air in your home to escape and create a welcome breeze around the home. Of course, this presents a security risk, so try and only open smaller windows that would be too small to enter through, and make sure your motion detection intruder alarm is activated when you go to bed.
Use the oven later in the day
Cooking in the kitchen will create a lot of heat that, on a warm day, will be difficult to get rid of. If you limit your cooking to the end of the day, when the air outside is cooling down, you can let the heat out when you open the windows at bedtime.
Using fans
If the use of fans is unavoidable, you can minimise their use by placing them strategically to deliver maximum effect in your home.
The temptation is to have the fan pointing directly at the affected area, namely your face.
Unfortunately, while this may provide some welcome relief, it’s doing little to cool down the air, and once you turn the fan off, you’ll feel that heat again.
In order to cool down the air in a room, open a window and point the fan towards the window.
Rather than stir up the warm air, this will blow the warm air outside, leaving cooler air behind. In the meantime, if you do want some temporary personal relief, a simple hand fan should be more than enough.
Double glazing definitely has its benefits when it comes to keeping your home warmer in the winter and keeping your home cool in the summer, providing you make the effort to cool down the air in your home.
To obtain your free quote for new double-glazed windows, get in touch with us today.