Thinking back to last summer, I can remember the scorching days and the boiling nights spent in my home during the surprisingly hot months we had. All the grass on the village green turned brown and many plants couldn’t cope with the dry spell in our garden so wilted away.
Although it was lovely to take seaside strolls and actually have a summer that felt like a holiday, it was specifically that feeling of being uncomfortably hot in my own home that I didn’t really enjoy. So this year, I’ve researched some changes I can make to my home to improve its resistance to temperatures – both hot and cold.
Insulation for more iciness
Did you know that insulation doesn’t just your home warm in the winter? It also keeps it cooler during the summer, too. If you’ve ever popped your head into the loft on a summer’s day, you’ll know what I’m talking about.
Just as it’s easy to feel an icy-cold draught coming down from the loft hatch in the winter, you may have also felt the full force of the boiling outside temperatures as the warm air accumulates inside your attic.
So, if you want your home to stay cooler this summer, consider adding attic insulation. The added bonus is that you’ll also save money on your heating in the winter too if you add insulation in the summer – and anything that lowers your energy bills is always a good thing.
Keep hot air away
Here’s something that might have fallen out of fashion over recent years but that I think should make a comeback – ceiling fans. I recall feeling perfectly comfortable in my childhood home with the ceiling fan going. It helps to circulate the air in the room and keep it cooler – and sometimes warmer too.
You see, the blades on a ceiling fan can be angled in a specific way that creates a cooling effect in the summer months and then, when rotated the opposite way in the winter, the hot air that has risen to the ceiling can be pushed back down to keep the room warmer.
That’s another way to save money on your heating bills in the winter and it’s a much cheaper way to stay cool in the summer, especially compared with air conditioning. It helps to circulate air quickly around the whole room, which is better than a table fan as that only has a cooling effect when you’re sat in front of it – which I also did a lot of last year!
Shut out the sunshine
A simple solution for keeping your home cool – one that your parents or grandparents would have used – is to keep the curtains and blinds closed. Although seeing the sun streaming in through the windows is a nice thing to look at and can lift your spirits, it also warms up the air and items inside the room.
So, block out the sunlight to keep cooler indoors. Honestly, you’ll notice the difference if you go out into the hot garden and then return to your darkened interior. It really does help to keep the rooms cooler – and it doesn’t cost a penny to close those curtains.
What else do you to stay cool indoors during the hot summer months? I’d love to hear your home hacks in the comments below and I hope that these three ideas will help you to stay comfortable during the warmer days to come.
Pin it for later
