With the scorching sun and elevating mercury, the air coolers and air conditioners are running almost 24×7 in every home. This is not only resulting in massive electricity consumption but also affecting the environment. So why not try some passive cooling ideas to cool down our home? This blog post aims at providing you with 9 passive cooling ideas to bring down your room temperature at no or trifle cost.
- Avoid using heat sources
- Incandescent lights generate more heat than LEDs. Stop using those in summers.
- Make more use of environment-friendly appliances like microwave and pressure cooker. Both of them have the beneficial properties of releasing less heat and consuming less power.
- Reduce the use of dryers in washing machines. Dryers generate a lot of extra heat thereby increasing power consumption. Instead dry your clothes in the sun.
- Glazing and coating treatments
- Tinting the room windows is a fair option to keep the heat out. Tinting options are available in various shades and colors. While in summer, the basic need is to keep the sunlight out of the house, it just gets reversed in winters. So, chose the tint color wisely keeping in mind the cold months.
- Another treatment to reduce the heat gain is applying low emissivity films and coatings in windows. This will also help in reducing the heat gain to your interiors.
- External shading
- A popular passive cooling option for homes is providing external shading. Nevertheless, while installing an external shade the sun’s path during winter and summer must be kept in mind.
- Along with providing shades, you can also paint them a light colour, white being the best. Light colours reflect UV rays better than dark colours.
- Insulate your home
- The main idea behind insulating homes is to allow more heat in winter and less in summer. Painting your roof with a light color will eventually absorb less heat than a dark color.
- Another method of home insulation is by keeping the curtains closed. Additionally, many people choose heavy curtains to block the sunlight depending upon their room colours.
- Have proper ventilation in your home
- Cross windows allow easy passage of air keeping the interiors cool and breezy.
- Make sure that every room opening that lets in fresh air is open. Effective ventilation not only keeps the interior cool but also removes moisture and microbes. Find out the direction of airflow and keep it free from barriers. Promote every possible way to allow the flowing air inside.
- Trying some quick hacks
These are just some easy hacks to keep your interiors cool. Sprinkle water on the curtains. Gradually, with the evaporation of water, the house interior will also become cool. You can also hang the washed clothes on a rope-line inside the room. This will also help in reducing temperature.
- Standing fans or ceiling fans are also a good option
In the case of a centrally air-conditioned home, it is not possible to control the temperature of every room. But if your home has individual ACs, utilize standing fans or ceiling fans unless and until a running AC is absolutely necessary. In case your room has two ceiling fans placed parallel, ensure that they have a fair distance in between. Or else, neither of the fans will be able to render the cooling effect. In such cases, using a standing fan and a ceiling fan is advised. Keep in mind; it is absolutely possible to keep your indoors cool without using an AC.
- Keeping the heat out
Applying a weather-stripping coat on the outer walls of the house keeps the UV rays away. Choose a weather-strip that is helpful in winter as well, by allowing more heat penetration
- Take care of your garden
Plant some indoor house plants which will not only keep the humidity away but will also beautify your homes. Last but not the least; plant more trees in your backyard and garden. Choose plants like neem and mango which will give cool shades while reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
With the rise of global warming, it is imperative that we reduce operating our ACs all the time. Not only that, continuous use of ACs also takes a toll on human health; your skin may get dry, you may get allergies, you may even develop respiratory problems. With this in mind, we must remember to avoid prolonged use of ACs. And the above-enlisted ideas will surely help you in this endeavor.
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