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Summers are here, and the bright and beautiful days are back. After the long and gloomy winters, the summers bring the happy faces back outdoors, enjoying the warmth of the summer days. However, soon the warmth of the summers turns to be gruelling hot days and heat uncomfortable to bear. With air conditioning running to keep the house cool, sprinklers for the outdoors, water in the swimming pool or multiple cold baths to keep the body cool, summer is also the month that could bring in the highest energy cost and high water bill.
Before the enjoyable summer turns into a hard-to-bear heat, let’s get our house ready to feel relaxed and welcoming. Before you take some drastic crazy steps to keep your home cool and summer-ready, let’s introduce you to a few doable steps and house improvements to make the summer heat bearable inside the home and save on the water and energy bills. Here we go!
If there are not many trees around your house to shelter it from heat, protect your home from the heat by covering the windows. Install exterior window coverings from the exterior side of the windows.
If you have space around your house or a green thumb, use it to protect your home interior from extreme heat. The herbs, shrubs, and small plants strategically planted near the windows will prevent heat transfer inside the home, keeping it cooler.
Bring home a water fountain and make it an integral part of your home décor. The sound of water will create a calming effect, and the breeze passing through the fountain will be cooler.
Change the furnishing of your home to lighter shades and switch to cotton fabric for the summer. The lighter shade will have a calming feel, and the cotton fabric will be comfortable to sit and relax when at home.
Dress up the windows with thick curtains or blinds to keep daylight away. Also, in summers with long days, thick curtains or blinds will help you sleep well at night.
Stock up your kitchen pantry and refrigerator to avoid frequent store visits. Avoid unnecessary trips outside the house since heat and humidity enter each time you open the doors of your house, thus putting pressure on the air conditioner.
Before the summer, get the service done on all the electronics and electrical gadgets. The refrigerator, air-conditioner, fans, coolers, etc., should all be serviced to perform well. Servicing also makes the gadget energy-efficient.
The cross-ventilation will help keep the house cooler even on hot summer days. So, design your house, so there is a scope for cross-ventilation and breeze to flow through the home interior, helping to keep cool.
You can think of rearranging or moving your home's furniture for the summer, like changing the face of the sofa from facing towards the fireplace to get a view of greenery. The sight of greenery is quite calming during summers and creates an illusion of coolness around you.
Books, music, TV, games, or whatever could keep you and your family entertained, bring them all to the same room. Along with family staying together for entertainment, you can also lower the electricity consumption with the air-conditioner running in a single space.
Check this out to get ideas for TV rooms: 20 ideal TV rooms for modern homes
