Cooling Your Home Without Cranking the AC: Creative Alternatives From Our Experts
It's true that living in a house without air conditioning during a broiling hot summer can be challenging. But blasting the air conditioning all the time runs up your energy bills. Is there a way you can keep your home cool without it, at least for a while? The answer is yes, and here are some ways to do it.
Install a whole-house fan
One way to keep your house comfortable when it’s sweltering outside is to install a whole-house fan. This type of large ceiling fan, often installed in the attic, pulls hot air from the house and vents it outside. It’s installed in the attic because hot air rises and accumulates in the top part of your house. A whole-house fan instantly cools the house, and if you open your windows during the cooler hours of early morning or evening with the fan running, the indoor temperatures drop even further.
The cost of a whole-house fan is much lower than that of central air conditioning. Basically, a large ceiling fan needs very little maintenance, is easy for HVAC professionals to install, and is environmentally friendly. Visit AskHomey.com to find a professional installer. If you already have air conditioning, a whole-house fan can extend its working life by giving it a bit of a break now and then. Whole-house fans also pull odors out of the house and improve the quality of your indoor air.
Install other kinds of fans
Even ordinary ceiling fans can make the difference between a house that’s comfortable during a hot summer without air conditioning and one that’s uninhabitable. Desktop fans, floor fans, window fans, box fans and even fans that you wear around your neck to cool your face are also useful to beat the heat. One tip is to make sure the blades of a ceiling fan run in a counterclockwise direction during the summer. This creates a breeze that makes you feel cooler. Your ceiling fan should have a little button that allows you to control the direction of its blades.
Make a cross breeze
Creating a cross breeze to cool down a room is easy. Open a window, then place a fan in it that pulls air into the room. Put another fan in the window on the other side of the room that blows air out. The result is immediate, deliciously cooling and inexpensive to produce.
Sleep in the basement
Your basement is 20 degrees cooler than the rest of your house. If it’s furnished, sleep down there. It may be a fun idea to have something like a family slumber party in the basement on warm nights. If your basement isn’t furnished, open its door a bit, and put a fan in the door to pull the cooler air into the rest of the house.
For more tips on how to keep your home cool during the summer, check out our Instagram and Facebook pages.
