The Easy, Overlooked Solution For Keeping Your Home Cool In A Brutal Heatwave

Many of us long for the warmth of summer during the cooler seasons of the year. But that summer heat can become extreme, bringing along the challenge of keeping our houses cool enough to be comfortable. (And keeping us safe.) Air conditioning is a primary way to cool homes, whether it is central air or window units. (Box fans, placed properly in a window, and even ceiling fans, can help.) But air conditioning costs money, and  for that reason (and others), around 12% of US households do not have air conditioning. So, what can you do to stop or slow heat from building up in your house? One counterintuitive action you can take is to keep your windows closed in the heat of the day.

In the winter, you keep your windows closed to keep the cold out. The same principle applies if your air conditioning is off. If it is warmer outside than inside, close your windows. Retain what cool air you have inside your house. Enhance that technique by taking advantage of the variations in temperature outside to keep your house cool. In the cool of the morning, open all your windows, circulating the cool air. As it heats up outside, close the windows.

Heatwaves are serious matters. The National Weather Service reports that extreme heat kills more Americans than any other extreme weather. With that in mind, here are a few more tips for keeping your home cooler. In addition to closing your windows, pull the shades. Sunlight shining through your windows will heat up your home via solar energy. Insulated shades and curtains will slow that process most effectively. Ceiling fans are a good way to cool people down, too. Set them to rotate counterclockwise so the air will blow down on the people in the room. Turn them off when the rooms are empty to save energy.

Heat rises. There will be an increase in temperature for each level of the house; coolest in the basement, rising on the first floor, even more on the second floor. If your second floor gets especially warm during the day, in the evenings, use window (or box fans in windows) fans to blow that warm air out of the house by setting the window fans to blow air out of the windows. This will push the hot air out while circulating the cooler air from lower in the house to the upper level.

For brutal heat waves. there is nothing that will be more effective than air conditioning; be it a window unit, portable air conditioner, or central air.  It can be a lifesaver, literally. But, adding some of these commonsense ways to cool your home can keep you more comfortable and perhaps save you some energy dollars as well.