The summer weather has left many feeling hot and bothered, especially if they don’t have air conditioning.
The good news is that if an air conditioner isn’t on the cards right now, there are some ways you can cool a room without ac, naturally.
Here are some simple DIY options to help cool your home.
How to cool a room without ac
1. Shut the blinds
Studies show up to 30 percent of unwanted heat comes from windows and high-quality curtains or purpose-designed window shades can make a major difference to the air temperature inside your home – lowering indoor temperatures up to 20 degrees. North and west-facing windows should have good block-out blinds to repel the heat.
2. Get to know your fans
Invest in ceiling fans if you haven’t already got them. Just make sure they are working in summer-mode – turning counter-clockwise as this pushes the hot air up, cooling you down. The opposite spin will do the reverse, sucking the cool air from a room towards the ceiling.
3. Place a bowl of ice infront of your fan
If you need a quick fix, you can create a faux sea breeze by positioning a bowl of ice at an angle in front of a large fan, as the air whips off the ice, it creates a cool mist that instantly cool a room without ac.
4. Create a cross-breeze
Strategically place your fan, creating a cooling cross-breeze across your room to cool it down. What is a cross-breeze? A cross-breeze happens when there is both an entry and exit point in a room for air. Wind naturally flows in and out of your home. Get to know your house, opening and closing windows and doors to work on which combinations produce the best airflow.
Once you know how air moves around your home, place a fan in the exit point to help blow warm air out and put another fan in a window to help blow cool air in.
5. Plant a rooftop garden
Planting greenery on the roof acts as insulation for the home as the garden helps keep the air temperate inside. If you want a virtually maintenance-free green roof, look for plants that can sustain themselves with minimal care, like kangaroo paw, succulents, banksias and native daisies.
6. Utilise indoor plants
The list of reasons why houseplants are the best keeps growing. Not only do houseplants make you happier and help keep the air in your home clean, but they also help to circulate cool air.
Think weeping figs, snake plants, rubber plants. They all suck in warm air and release cool, moist air into your home.
7. Turn the lights off
Lights give off a small amount of excess heat and in the middle of a sweltering day, every little bit makes a difference. Make sure to turn any lights off that you’re not using. Interestingly, the type of light bulb you use also affects the temperature. LED lights produce less heat than incandescent bulbs, so it might be worth making the switch.
9. Revamp your bedding
Any excuse will do to invest in a fresh new quilt and sheet set, and summer calls for light, breathable fabrics to ensure a good night’s sleep. Look for linen or pure cotton sheets, and invest in a quality summer-weight blanket with a light cotton or silk fill. Stick to light colours for summer bedding, as they reflect rather than absorb heat, perfect for cooling a bedroom when you don’t have ac.
RELATED: Best summer sheet sets for hot sleepers
10. Plant shade trees
Trees and plants are an effective way to block the heat from coming in through the windows. Plant strategically positioned trees and shrubs in garden beds or pots outside the windows that get the most direct sunlight during the day, creating natural shade cover for years to come. If you want more natural sunlight during the cooler months, go for trees that lose their leaves during autumn and winter, like jacaranda, ash, birch, maple and robinia.
11. Add insulation
Insulation installed in your ceiling prevents the hot air in the roof cavity from entering your home. It doesn’t just work during the day either! After your roof has been baking in the hot sun all day, the insulation prevents that heat from radiating into your home at night. If you’re installing insulation yourself, make it tight against the timber of your ceiling structure but don’t compress it as this reduces its effectiveness. Also, keep it around 20 cm from any downlights as this could be a fire risk.
12. Install outdoor blinds
If hot summer days are becoming a problem for your family, consider installing outdoor blinds to keep the sun out. Retract them down on hot days when you want to cool your home and pop them up when you don’t.
13. Keep your body temperature cool
If you’ve done everything you can to cool your room, it also helps to cool your body temperature. Applying ice packs or cold-wash clothes to your neck and wrists can make a huge difference. Try this cooling towel if you’re sick of your ice packs and towels melting too quickly. Giving tips on how to stay cool in summer, one Reddit user says the Frog Togg “will stay wet forever!”
Another Amazon reviewer said: Best product available to keep yourself cool on sweltering days or cool down whilst playing sports. It looks exactly as pictured, it arrived 2 days early. Keeps cool for hours.”
Stay cool!
Best summer sheets sets for hot sleepers
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