10 tips on surviving the summer without AC

During the summer, it’s tempting to crank the air conditioning 24 hours a day. But there are plenty of ways to escape the heat without racking up your electricity bill.

1. The mighty fan
Set your ceiling fan to run in an anti-clockwise direction and it will draw cooler air from the floor up. Set Use portable fans at night and positioned it in an open window to pull in the cool air from the outside.

2. Alfresco cooking
Using a hot oven in the kitchen can heat up the room (and the house) incredibly quickly. So, make the most of the warm weather by eating and cooking outside. Prep salads indoors and simply use your barbeque for anything that needs cooking.

3. Put your curtains and blinds to work
During the daytime, when the sun is at its hottest and beaming through the windows in your house, the temperature inside is going to go up incredibly fast. Simply closing curtains and blinds will make your room instantly cooler.

4. Natural coolers
Plant a deciduous tree in the garden. It will create shade and keep both your house and garden cool in summer, while in winter, the leaves drop and allow natural light in (that won’t work for this summer, but next year you’ll be thanking us).

5. No lights
Light bulbs give off heat, so switch them off when they aren’t necessary, common sense right? Using natural light saves you money on your energy bill also.

6. Cool down
Take a cold shower. Rinsing off under a cool stream brings down your body temperature and rinses off sweat so you can hit the sack feeling cool and clean.

7. Tint your windows
Install inexpensive heat-reflecting film on windows that face the sun. This will keep your house cooler and reduce glare and ultraviolet rays that damage furniture and floors.

8. Don’t ‘dis’ the screen door.
Screen doors are very underrated. They allow fresh air in and keep undesirables out.

9. Sheets, sheets, sheets.
Opt for cooler linen and cotton sheets. Light-coloured bed linen made of light fabrics, are breathable so better to sleep in.

10. Insulate
Most peo­ple assume that insu­la­tion is some­thing that keeps their home warmer in colder weather. While that is true, the insu­la­tion will also pre­vent your home from over­heat­ing during the summer.