For many people, there’s nothing better than a warm, sunny day. Whether you enjoy sharing cold beverages and ice cream with friends in your backyard, or going on the beach and enjoying the sea, there’s always something fun to do during the hot, summer months. But, as we all know, warm temperatures aren’t always very pleasant, since the temperature in our homes rises as well.
We’ve all experienced the hot summer nights of tossing and turning in bed, which makes it difficult to fall asleep. And if you are looking for ways to cool down a hot room, we offer numerous ways to do so. Some of these techniques will take you only a few minutes and will be very helpful during the hot summer, while others will take a bit of work. So read our article to find the most suitable cooling technique for your home.
Invest in an Air Conditioner
Let’s start with an obvious one. When it comes to room cooling, air conditioning is considered as the most effective method. But despite being an effective solution, it isn’t the most cost-effective one since your electricity bill will be a little bit higher. There are three types of air conditioners that you can choose from:
- Window units. These air conditioners are installed on your window with the back of the unit outside and the front of the window unit inside your room. Most window units have fast cooling settings and can reduce the room temperature in a very short period of time.
- Portable air conditioners. These air conditioner units are placed on the floor, and include an exhaust hose and a device to attach this hose to the window. Portable air conditioners are very practical because they’re designed with wheels so you can move them around the house and place them in any room (as long as it has a window for venting).
- Mini splits. Mini splits consist of two parts: an indoor air handler and outdoor condenser.
Install an Attic Fan
By installing a whole house attic fan, you’ll be able to cool down any room (or the whole house) very fast, and use less electricity than air conditioning. The attic pulls up the heat from your house and pushes the hot air throughout the roof vent, while drawing cooler air from the outside into your house. The installation of the whole house attic fan is quite easy, as it takes only one day to install it with the help of a few basic tools.
Use Fans and Ice (or Cold) Water
Another quick technique to cool down any hot room in your house is to fill buckets, small coolers, or bowls with ice or cold water (ice is preferred). You also need a box fan, however, if you have an oscillating fan it would be better. Make sure to obtain one bowl or bucket of ice for every fan you’re going to use.
Put the bucket or bowl of ice or cold water on a table or the floor and place the oscillating fan directly in front of it. The hot air will be chilled out by the coolness of the ice and the fan will spread the cold air in the whole room.
Install Ceiling Fans
Another method to cool down a hot room is by installing ceiling fans. It’s best to set the rotation of the blade counterclockwise because this will force the hot air from the ceiling towards the floor, so it clashes with the cooler air. This cross current of forcing the warm air towards the floor and the cooler air towards the ceiling creates an effect which is commonly known as fan windchill.
Use an Exhaust Fan
Using the fans that blow cold air directly on you as a basic source for heat relief is a good way to cool your personal space, however, don’t discount the kitchen and bathroom exhaust fans that are specially designed to push warm air out.
Even though the kitchen exhaust fans’ primary function is to remove smoke and odors, while the bathroom exhaust fans remove moisture and odors, they also extract hot air from the room to make space for cool air. When you get home, switch on the exhaust fans to pull out the stagnant, hot air which piled up during the day. This way your air conditioner and other methods of cooling will be much more effective.
Create a Cross Breeze
Enabling free circulation of the outside air inside your house is another great method that will help cool down your room fast since creating a cross breeze inside a hot room increases the airflow. You can create a cross breeze if you open two or more windows that are on the opposite walls to each other. This way you’ll allow the air to enter from one window and exit from the opposite side.
And if there’s just a slight air breeze, you can put box fans on the windows to create the cross-breeze effect. Simply position the box fans in such a way that one blows in air from the outside and the other one pushes the indoor air out.
Limit Heat Build Up
There are several approaches for keeping your home from retaining heat, which helps the human body to stay cool using its natural processes.
- Close your windows and doors and lower the blinds during the day to prevent warm air and direct sunlight from entering your house. You can install cellular shades for maximum effect, since they block up to 80% of the sun’s heat;
- Remove all the incandescent light bulbs, because they aren’t energy efficient; only 10% of the used energy is turned to light, the other 90% are heat. You can replace them with CFL or LED bulbs;
- Avoid the use of appliances which create heat. Almost all electrical appliances emit a small amount of heat when you use them, which is bad when you want to cool down your rooms. The small appliances don’t emit a lot of heat, so they won’t make a large difference to the temperature in the room, however, electrical appliances such as the microwave, oven, washing machine, tumble dryer, and hairdryer can. So, if you can, it’s a good idea to cook outside, or wash and dry your laundry during the night.
- Consider installing insulation in your attic and reflective materials for the roof. During the day, the sun beards down on the roof of your house and it heats up your attic, which is going to extend the time for the warm air to rise and exit from your house. So, if you install reflective material on the roof, your attic will be cooler, and by extension, your whole house, too.
Use a Dehumidifier
Excess moisture raises the temperature inside your room and contributes to an uncomfortable heat. This is a really big problem if you live in an area where the humidity is high. If this is the case, using a dehumidifier will certainly help out.
The dehumidifier sucks in the humid air from your room and circulates it around specific coils before returning the air back into the room humid-free. Some of the air condition units come with a dehumidifying option, but if your AC unit doesn’t have it, you can buy a dehumidifier from any home improvement store. These devices are expensive, but you can buy a portable version, so you can move it from room to room in order to maximize the usage of the dehumidifier. Place it in the center of the room for best results.
Open Windows and Doors at Night
Another thing that you can do to decrease the room temperature is to open your doors and windows during the night, to let that cold night breeze inside. By opening two windows on opposite ends of the room, for example, you’ll create a cross breeze, which will instantly fill your room with cool air. Make sure to close the doors and windows tightly in the morning while the sun is up to avoid hot air from entering your room. Close the blackout curtains or blinds, as well.
How to Cool Down Your Body Temperature During a Hot Night?
Sleep is essential for your mental and physical health, and the high temperature can result in difficulty falling asleep, even insomnia. So, if you are unable to cool down the temperature in your room to your liking, it’s time to find some ways to lower your body heat. As long as you feel cool, you’ll feel comfortable sleeping even if your room is quite warm. Here are some tips for keeping your body cool:
- Take a cold shower before you go to bed. If the very thought of getting under a cold shower makes you uncomfortable, then start the shower with a slightly warmer water, and then gradually cool it down;
- Put on a lightweight, loose-fitting pajamas;
- Put a wet, cold washcloth on your pulse points, such as your wrists and neck;
- Hydrate yourself with cold water;
- Freeze your sheets and your pillow – just put them in a plastic bag and stick them in your freezer for several minutes before you go to bed and you’ll get an icy cool bedding;
- Sleep close to the floor;
- Convert a hot water bottle into an ice pack.
Final Words
Beating the summer heat is all about keeping yourself and your environment cool throughout the summer. We hope that our ideas inspired you to do just that, so you can have a pleasant temperature in your home both during the day and night. Enjoy your summer!
