How to Cool Your Home Without Air Conditioning

Summertime means warm weather and sunny skies. The arrival of summer also means we experience the occasional heatwave and long for a cooler, air-conditioned haven. As temperatures increase, your home may be uncomfortably warm if you don’t have air conditioning. Luckily, you can use a few tricks to cool down your home without central air to keep you and your loved ones comfortable when temperatures soar.

Check out our tips for keeping your house cool this summer season.

How to Keep a Bedroom Cool Without Air Conditioning

It can be tricky to fall asleep if it’s warm in the bedroom. Fortunately, you can try a few things to cool down your bedroom and enjoy a relaxing full night’s rest. Here are a few steps to follow to keep your bedroom cool without air conditioning.

1. Open the Windows

Temperatures start to decrease by the late afternoon and through to the early morning, so take advantage of these cooler temperatures to cool down your bedroom for the night. Consider opening all your bedroom windows to let the cool night breeze in after dinner time so the room can begin to cool down before you turn in for the night.

If you have young children, you may want to consider investing in window restrictors or locks to prevent the windows from opening too far. It’s also an excellent idea to use a window screen to keep out unwanted bugs while you enjoy the crisp night air.

2. Consider a Ceiling Fan

Ceiling fans are one of the best ways to cool down your bedroom, or any room for that matter, since they circulate air throughout the entire room to create a draft. So switch that fan on for the night to keep your bedroom as cool as possible.

If you don’t have a ceiling fan already, look for one on the larger side since longer blades circulate air more efficiently. Ensure it’s the right size for your bedroom, too. Ceiling fans between36 and 44 inches in diametercan cool rooms as big as 225 square feet. If your room is any larger, opt for a bigger fan to match.

One of the best hacks for ceiling fans is to ensure they are spinning counter-clockwise at the highest speed. This adjustment can help create a cooler breeze throughout the room to lower the temperature and help you fall asleep. When installing an overhead fan, position the blades between 10 to 12 inches below the ceiling and 7 and 9 feet above the floor to get maximum coverage.

3. Purchase Breathable Linens

Your bed can be a beacon for warm air, especially if you have thick, insulated sheets and blankets. One of the keys to enjoying a relaxed, restful sleep in the summer is to change your bedding to suit the warm weather and save the insulated sheets for the winter season. Opt for light, breathable materials such as cotton for your sheets and blankets.

It’s best to avoid silk or satin materials. Although they’re light, they trap heat and can make your bed feel even hotter. A good general rule is to aim for the lowest thread count of cotton sheets and blankets you can find for the most breathable material.

4. Have a Nightly Cool-Down Routine

Creating a routine to wind down before bed is an excellent way to enter your bedroom feeling relaxed and cool. Physical activity can increase your body temperature and heat, so aim to settle down and relax an hour or two before bed to cool yourself down. You can place ice packs on the back of your neck to lower your body temperature.

Additionally, take a cold shower before bed to leave you feeling fresh and chilled. Make sure you stay hydrated with plenty of ice water before you turn in for the night too.

5. Opt for Light Pajamas

Another must for keeping yourself cool is to wear light, breezy pajamas. And by keeping your body temperature down, your bedroom will naturally feel cooler because you’ll release less body heat into the room. Just like your bedding, choose light, cotton materials for your pajamas. Tank-tops, shorts and nightgowns are excellent options. Ensure you stay away from any wool or fleece fabrics. These materials are thick and trap heat, which makes them better suited for winter pajamas.

How to Keep a Family Room Cool Without Air Conditioning

Keeping your living room, family and guests cool is a high priority for many homeowners. Using strategies such as keeping your blinds and doors closed, you can beat the heat in your family room even without central air. Here are our top tips for keeping your family room cool without air conditioning this summer.

1. Shut the Curtains and Blinds

Natural sunlight is a welcome sight in many homes. Sunlight lets homeowners keep plants indoors and save energy by keeping lights off during the day. Still, when sunlight enters your home, it can heat things up quickly. During the summer, roughly 76% of the sunlight that comes in through the windows becomes heat.

One of the easiest ways to keep out the warm sunlight is to close your curtains and blinds throughout the daytime. Keeping your curtains closed is especially crucial for the windows directly facing the sun in the early morning until the afternoon.

You can also invest in blackout curtains, which are the most effective for keeping light from pouring in. If you want some natural light without the heat, you can even consider insulated shades or heat-blocking window films. If you wish to open your windows, open them at night once the sun has set, and let in the crisp night air to cool the room down. Remember to close the curtains before you turn in for the night to keep out the early morning sunshine.

2. Turn on Bathroom Exhaust Fans

While you might think your bathroom exhaust fans are only useful for pulling out steam from hot showers, they are perfect for pulling hot air out of your home too. If you have any bathrooms near your living room, switch on your bathroom exhaust fans to reduce hot air in your family room and help cool the area down.

By keeping your room dark and using extractor fans, you may notice the temperature in your living room start to decrease, helping you and your guests feel more comfortable throughout the hot summer months.

3. Close the Doors

Your doors are essential for keeping your house cool this summer. One of the best ways to keep the cooler air confined to the family room is to close the doors to any unused spaces like closets. Keep your front and back doors shut, especially if they are in direct sunlight, to keep warm air and daylight from entering your home.

Making sure your door hardware is up to date is essential for keeping your unused rooms closed and maximizing the cool air in your living room. Ensure your handles, locks and hinges are in tip-top shape to keep your rooms and home locked up tight and stay cool this summer.

4. Install Energy-Efficient Lightbulbs

Did you know that certain lightbulbs can generate more heat than others? Incandescent bulbs use 90% of their energy to generate heat, contributing to more heat in your family room. Because they’re less energy-efficient, they also raise electricity bills. If you’re looking to cool down your home, ditching these hot lightbulbs is an excellent place to start.

Opting for energy-saving lightbulbs can help you beat the heat this summer and save more money in the long run. Consider LEDs or CFLs, which are both more efficient and produce less heat than incandescent bulbs.

5. Use Box and Window Fans

Relaxing in front of a fan is an excellent way to cool yourself down during the day. Did you also know that placing fans in open windows instead of directly on you can help reduce the heat in your home?

The best time to open your windows is once the temperature starts to drop, usually late evening until the early morning. Opening your windows at this time will allow a fresh, crisp breeze to enter your home. You can then use box fans to pull more cool air inward through the window. Then oscillating or ceiling fans can circulate the cool air into and around your home. Consider pointing at least one fan out your window to push the hot air out.

Remember to close your windows once the warm sun rises so you can keep as much heat out of your home as possible.

How to Keep a Kitchen Cool Without Air Conditioning

The kitchen can be arguably one of the hottest rooms in the house. With hot stoves, ovens, steam and smoke combined with scorching summer temperatures, the kitchen can get uncomfortable when you’re trying to prepare a meal or snack. Luckily, a few hacks can help you beat the heat in your kitchen this summer. Here are our top tips for keeping your kitchen cool without air conditioning.

1. Avoid the Oven

Aside from the summer heat, the oven is the number one contributor to a hot kitchen. With baking and broiling temperatures higher than 350 degrees Fahrenheit, it’s best to limit your use of the oven as much as possible to keep your kitchen as cool as possible.

Fortunately, you can cook meals for your family using other options that generate less heat. Instead, you can opt for no-cook meals like healthy salads or other chilled dishes for your summer meals. As a bonus, meals served cool can keep you a little cooler too. For cooking, you can go with a slow cooker. Almost anything can go in the slow cooker, and with many recipes specific to these cooking devices, you can try something new all summer long.

2. Cook in the Morning

Your home starts to warm up as the day goes on, so try to cook and prepare as much as you can in the cooler hours of the early morning. By carving out a few minutes or hours in the morning, you can avoid most of the sweltering heat and keep your kitchen from getting any warmer during the hottest parts of the day.

You can prep cook dishes and pop them in the microwave for a quick and easy meal later. You can also prepare foods that refrigerate well, such as chicken, and chill them for salads or sandwiches at lunch or dinner.

3. Start Grilling

If you want to avoid releasing heat into the kitchen with the oven and stove altogether, you can cook outside on the grill if you have one. Enjoy some delicious grilled or barbequed summer staples to keep the heat outside and not in your home. You can sharpen your grilling skills to impress loved ones and guests at barbeques, spend more time in the great outdoors and also try some new recipes in the process. It’s a win-win situation.

4. Get the Air Moving

If you don’t have an outdoor grill and need to prepare most of your meals using your oven and stove, get the air circulating to keep the kitchen cooler, especially while cooking. Use box fans to circulate air or push hot air out of your windows.

Also, keep the fans low to the ground. This way, the fans will push the denser cool air up towards the rising warm air and help cool down your kitchen. You can also turn on the kitchen exhaust fans to suck up any steam and hot air while you’re cooking to maximize the airflow.

5. Unplug Unused Appliances

Electricity can generate heat, even when plugged-in appliances are turned off and not in use. Keeping everything plugged in could make a warm kitchen even warmer. When those hot summer months come around, make it a habit to unplug any appliances that you aren’t using, such as microwaves, toasters, coffee pots and device chargers.

Plug them in only when you need them instead to help keep your kitchen cool and comfortable when temperatures rise. Unplugging unused devices can also help you save on your electricity bills in the long run.

Turn to Premium Hardware to Keep Your Home Cool

Your doors will come in extra handy in the summer to close off unused rooms to keep your home nice and cool. At Premium Hardware, we specialize in designing high-quality residential door hardware to keep your doors safe and secure. Our products combine elegance and style with durability and security, so you don’t have to choose between the two.

Browse our catalog online today or get in touch with a friendly member of our team to find the perfect door hardware to keep your house cool this summer season.