Now you think there is a lot of time to summer but when it comes it’s better for you to be prepared. How to keep our home cool and to stay sustainable at the same time? It seems that the only option is turning your air-conditioning to minimum degrees and closing the windows, but here are a few interesting ideas, that prove this wrong. We, from Local Cleaners Eastcote, have long professional experience in providing cleaning services – we have seen many homes and that has made it possible for us to recognise the best solutions to keeping your home cool.
Put External Blinds Outside Your Windows
Hang external window blinds or tight woven textile shades outside your windows throughout the hottest hours of the day. This could stop over 75% of the sun heat from getting into your home.
Most people don’t want to block out all of the natural light from their homes during the day. There is very simple solution to this problem – instead of darkening all windows, choose just a few of the windows around that are getting the most of the sun light and install screens in just these particular places(areas). If you put wooden or metal external blinds they will also keep your home well isolated(insulate) from the cold temperatures during the winter as well.
Re-paint Your Roof
The lighter you make your roof’s colour, the more heat it reflects. Dark colours are proven to absorb and hold much more heat from the sunlight and transmit it into the house, which increases the indoor temperature considerably. A year ago NASA made a test which showed, that the white roofs in New York City during a hot day were 42°F ( about 5.6°C) cooler than the dark ones.
This means that painting your rooftop in some light colour can reduce usage of air-conditioning up to 20 %. There are studies predicting that if this step to cooling our homes is applied globally in all the major cities and towns a big amount of heat would be prevented from being accumulated from the earth surface, which could lead to global temperature drop.
Reduce the Use of Heat Generating Appliances During the Hottest Parts of the Day
Most of the appliances we use in our homes everyday generate and emit huge amount of heat. Households are often running several appliances at once all the time including TVs, computers, washing machines, ovens and stoves, driers, dishwashers and more. Avoid using the unnecessary appliances during the hottest parts of day and use your BBQ or grill to cook in the garden, rather than generating warmth inside using the oven or stove. Try to use appliances such as dishwashers or washing machines during the evening, or even, during the night. One of the biggest benefits of warm summer days is that you can sun-dry your clothes outside rather than using your drier at all, unless you are in a hurry.
Plant Trees Outside Your Home
If your garden is big enough, plant some trees or a hedge near the walls of your house. The shade from the trees’ crown will provide your house with cool shade in the summer and also help reducing the temperature inside your home significantly. If you want to have nice, dense shade plant deciduous trees. These kinds of trees have large, thin leaves, which will keep your house from the searing sunlight. Of course, this is a long term step but there is no option more environmentally friendly than this one.
Store Thick Furniture Covers and Area Rugs
When the temperature starts rising, it’s time for carpet and upholstery cleaning – clean all of your carpets, area rugs, wool bed and furniture covers and store them in your garage or attic. First – all textiles tram a lot of dust and dirt in their fibres, which can make your indoor air a bit stuffy and even if there is no temperature difference, we are feeling like there is. Second – walking on your hard wood floor barefoot is much more refreshing than walking on some furry rug. Third, you won’t have to pay for professional cleaning services in the winter.
Purchase An Energy Efficient Air Conditioner
Ok, let’s admit it – when the temperature outside is over 30°C nothing can cool down the air like the good old air conditioner. Thankfully, nowadays the manufacturers started to respond to the increasing demand for more energy efficient appliances. So when you are about to change your air-conditioner pick one, labelled with “A” – the most energy efficient class and don’t abuse its usage. Keep the thermostat on constant degrees – this spends less energy, than turning your air-system on-and-off all the time.
As you can see, eco-concious way of living doesn’t mean you have to boil in the hottest months. If you try even only 3 of this 6 ideas, your home will become greener and cooler place.
