We’ve been through extreme heat already so this is something we are all thinking about.
keeping indoors cool has become a challenge and daunting task these days. BC had a historical heatwave within the last couple of weeks and many people had a hard time keeping themselves cool in their own homes.
How to keep your home cool
With hotter summer days are on the horizon, keeping indoor cool becomes a challenge and daunting task these days. BC had a historical heatwave within the last couple of weeks and many people had a hard time keeping themselves cool in their own homes.
Many people who live in a condominium or in their homes are wondering what can they do with their space that can be easier to handle.
These couple of days were the hottest weather I experienced in Canada and I’m sure many people were suffering too. Firstly I’m sorry for lives lost due to heatstroke, and I hope more people will have access to the knowledge of how to keep their living space cool to avoid such tragedies.
I live in a treed area which creates a lot of shades which results in 3 to 4 degrees of cooler temperature, but still, we had a hard time considering my house is an older rancher with a yard around, that’s why we never installed any cooling system. I saw many of my plants got damaged and my cats having a hard time keeping themselves cool.
Keep the environment around cool
I like to separate two different subjects and explain each differently.
First the environment around us like our home and secondly our body and how we control the heat within our body.
Talking about our living space, every home is different but the first thing we should do is to minimize sun exposure coming into our living space. Where our home is exposed to the sun is through walls, ceilings, and windows. We might not be able to do much with our walls and roof if we live in a condo, apartment, or townhomes, but if we live in a house by adding more insulation on the roof, we are doing good for our wallet in the long run because it will keep the house warm in winter and cooler in summer. Most sun heat comes through the windows and that is where we should control by a thick curtain. If we don’t have a thick curtain which most the new homes don’t you can hang a blanket for the time of the day that the sun has the most heat which is between 11:00 am to 6:00 pm
I’ve seen some people stick foil paper or a reflective wrap on their windows. This method is a very low-cost solution as well. This way the sunray will be reflected outside and won’t heat your room either. You can make tape it in a way that you could remove it when you want the sun to come through.
Air Flow,
We should create constant airflow so that to make it much more livable. If there is some winds or breeze from outside, you can have the windows open (make sure the blanket hanging won’t stop the airflow)
If the outside breeze is not substantial, a ceiling fan or a portable fan would do the job. You can have the bathroom fan and the kitchen hood fan to run as well.
Putting a bowl of ice in front of the fan makes a huge difference to cool down the room temperature.
Cooldown the exterior of the building,
If you are not under the water restriction, it is a good idea to water the exterior surface of the house after 7:00 PM when the sun is reducing the angle. The house has collected the heat of the sun all day and it is cooking. Water will cool off the exterior surface and will reduce the interior temperature by 5 degrees so you can sleep in your house at night.
Try to avoid using any appliances and electronics that generate heat. that includes your TV, computer, and hairdryer, and much more. We should make sure to reduce the accumulation of hot air inside the home. so Make sure no extra heat is been generated inside as much as possible.
Gather all of your plants and keep them all in one spot and make sure they are hydrated. They have a small but positive effect in colling the space.
Keep all doors open even bedrooms. Never sleep in the closed door bedroom at a high temperature if you don’t have an AC. Our heat will accumulate in the room along with external heat will increase the room temperature and will create a greenhouse condition and could have a very dangerous consequence.
Holly: interesting points Aryo, what about our body, how can we control the heat within our body?
Aryo: Try to keep yourself cool by taking 30 seconds of cold showers to wet your body.
If you can refuge to a public location like a mall, library, or such conditioned places during the day and when you come home later the day the temperature is been dropped by a bit.
Try to eat low calory food and fruit (like watermelon, or cucumber) rather than too much water. Keet yourself hydrated with energy drinks. Pops or fizzy drinks might feel like cooling you down but the sugar in the drink adds calory and at this stage, you don’t need extra calory in your body.
Watch our first episode of Healthy living Healthy Home with Aryo here!