10 Ways to Stay Cool in the Heat without Air Conditioner

Written by: Sumita Roy

Beating the heat naturally is something most of us have forgotten. Well not entirely naturally, because it would be a totally ludicrous idea to go on without even a fan- that so in the Indian heat. My point is to obliterate the use of air conditioners.

It is true that most of us can in the present context afford an A.C. but here I am not talking about affordability, here I am more focused on the aspect of conserving energy and preserve nature by adhering to natural means, as much as possible.  

Therefore I have listed a few tricks in which you can effectively beat the heat without spending much on your electricity bill.

Keeping the blinds closed

This is a simple way to keep your indoors from the unnecessary heat access. Almost 30 percent of the heat in your home comes from your window. In order to reduce this steady access, you will have to draw your curtains and pull the blinds. 

Indoor temperatures vary dramatically through this simple step. Use of blinds prevents your home from becoming a mini glasshouse- more so if the windows are south or/and west facing.

Closing rooms

This is also an effective way to prevent heat inflow. During the afternoons, if you keep your west/ south facing rooms closed, then this will prevent heat access to all the internal parts of your home. 

I mean you can shift yourself and your family to the cooler rooms, and close the doors of the room which are comparatively hotter. Closing the blinds of the windows is not enough, you will have to shut the room completely. This will prevent heat inflow to the other parts of your home.

Swap your sheets

Changing bed sheets is a way to freshen up the rooms. But in a hot weather, just changing the sheets is not enough, you will have to make sure that the material used is suited to the weather conditions. An unstarched cotton, preferably light colored, sheet will be best suited to this purpose. 

Materials like flannel sheets and fleece blankets are fantastic insulation providers, but cotton for hot weather is a better choice- it stays cooler and breathes easier. Though docs recommend not using pillows, but if you need to, then buying buckwheat pillow is more preferable. These have a naturally occurring air space between them; these are good in releasing your body heat unlike the others which capture the heat between your body and their surface.

Set your ceiling fans to rotate counter clockwise

Many of us do not know about which is the ideal way a ceiling fan’s blade should move. It varies from season to season, and should be changed accordingly. During the summers the ideal rotation of the blades should be counter-clockwise. Setting them in this direction at a higher speed will help the air flow to create a chill breeze effect. This will make your interiors cooler.

Personal touch

Think about how our ancestors survived the heat.  If they could have done it, then why can’t you? Sipping iced tea, lemon drinks, cold drinks, chilled soda, fruit juices or just cold water- this is the range of beverages you can consume regularly to cool your body. This also helps you to keep your body hydrated and make up for the water your body loses through continuous sweating.

Applying wet towel or cloth in strong pulsed areas like wrists, neck, or even on your face can help you regulate your body temperature. And be smart while choosing the color, style and texture of your clothing. Like your sheets an unstarched and old cotton dress/ sundress would be better.

Turn on your exhaust fans

Most of our bathrooms and kitchen have exhaust fans. These are important appliances that ca be used to increase cross ventilation. Therefore leaving them on for at least a few hours will help to increase cross ventilation within your interiors. 

Every time you cook or take a shower, leave them on. This not only sends the heat out of your house, but helps in the inflow of fresh breeze. Having said that, you will not want the cooler breeze leaving your home, therefore make sure that the windows and doors are closed and the cracks present in walls, caulked.

Let the night cool your home

It is a common practice for every air conditioner free home to keep their windows open in the nights. During the nights, ordinarily temperature tends to drop.  To make most of this temperature drop, you can strategically place your table fans to create a breeze tunnel thereby forcing a perfect cross breeze. Just be sure to close your windows and its blinds early in the next day, before it gets too hot in the morning.

Also read: Summer decor tips for your home

Say no to incandescent lights

If you are thinking about switching your incandescent bulbs to CFL or LED lights, then now is your time. Incandescent lights waste 90 percent of their energy in the production of heat, which is already there, and completely uninvited. Therefore throwing them/ replacing them with CFL or LED lights will be better in saving heat emission and energy conservation. You electricity bill will also show the impact of this change.

Grilling outdoors

During summers grilling outside your home will help you keep your interiors cool. If you are changing your bulbs to keep the internal temperature low, then you can also consider cooking outside. There are several advantages attached to this kind of arrangement. 

First it will prevent the rise in temperature which is a side effect of cooking indoors; also, while being outside; you can switch off the interior lights and open all the windows, further lowering the temperature of your house.

Make a few improvements

If you are committed to the ideology of not using air conditioners, then there are a few long term changes, if incorporated within your household, will help you to insulate your interiors better. Installation of insulated window film is a smart choice; their work is similar to that of blinds. 

Awnings and potted plants, or planted trees in your windows help you further to keep the temperature within desired range. More specifically, if the vines are present in front of the west/south facing windows, then better insulation will take place.

By using these few non-A.C. techniques you can bring in a great change in terms of keeping the temperature of your house in control. Though these won’t make your interiors as cool as an air conditioner, but surviving the heat in a natural way is better for more than one reason. 

First, it prevents your electricity bill from shooting up; second, it preserves energy and nature; third, it increases ones stamina to resist and live through heat; fourth, in case of a power cut you will not be swooning due to the heat; fifth, your body will be immune to numerous extremities of nature.