We’re almost at the end of Winter, which is a blessing for many of us due to the cost of living crisis and the increased cost of heating. But while people on a tight budget are celebrating not having to spend outrageous money keeping their home warm, Summer is only a few months away and that will come with its own challenges.
Much like the cost of heating, the price of electricity has skyrocketed over the past few years, meaning that the cost of keeping your home cool during Summer months will also increase. Fans and air conditioning units require a lot of electricity to run, especially if they’re being used all day.
So, if you are worried about the cost of staying cool this Summer, we’ve prepared a quick cheat sheet to help you know how to keep your home from getting too warm, without needing to turn on an energy intensive cooling appliance.
Open windows during cool parts of the day
When your home is hot during the day, it can be tempting to open up your windows to let in some fresh air in an attempt to keep cool, but by opening your windows during hot periods of the day, all you’re doing is letting more hot air into your home.
During Summer you should keep your windows closed during the hot periods of the day but leave them open during cooler periods in the morning and evening. By doing this, you’ll only allow cool air into your home, which will help to keep it cool.
Use thick blinds to prevent heat entering through windows
Even with your windows closed, windows can still cause your home to get hotter than it needs to be, as the glass acts like a magnifying glass, intensifying the heat as it passes through your window. So, during the hot periods of a Summer’s day you should keep your blinds closed.
If your blinds aren’t providing enough shade to your home’s interior, you should consider swapping them out for a thick set of made to measure insulating blinds. By using a thicker set of blinds, you’ll improve the window’s insulation, helping to prevent heat from entering your home.
Avoid using heat generating appliances during the day
When your home is already uncomfortably warm, you don’t want to do anything that will generate more heat inside your home, making it even more hot and even less comfortable. Appliances like washing machines, ovens and kettles should be avoided during the hot periods of the day.
The appliance people struggle with the most during the Summer is ovens, washing machines can be run at night, but you still need to eat. It’s recommended that for meals in the Summer, you either eat later in the evening, prepare cold foods like salads, or cook outdoors on a BBQ to avoid adding more heat to your home.
Add shading to your home’s exterior
Even with your windows and blinds shut in your home, unwanted heat may still be passing into your home through your windows, if they’re not properly insulated or your blinds aren’t a good fit. If it’s hard to shade the interior of your home, you should look to shade your windows from the outside.
By adding awnings or exterior shutters to the outside of your home, you will prevent light and heat from reaching your windows and cast a cool shadow over them. This will greatly reduce how hot the inside of your home feels, as outside heat can not reach the windows for most of the day.
Use extractors to remove hot air from your home
If your home is full of warm or hot air, you’ll need a way to remove it from your home, unfortunately it’s not a great idea to open your windows during the warmer hours of the day, so you will need to find alternate ways to extract hot air.
Luckily, most homes come with devices made to extract air from inside and move it outside of your home. Most kitchens will have an extractor fan above the oven and many bathrooms will have an extractor fan for steam. By turning on these devices, you will remove some of the hot air from your home, allowing it to cool down.
