Instead of succumbing to the heat waves of summer, consider the following advice. It doesn’t take much effort to substantially lower your interior temperatures and find relief from heat. You might find that these tips offer a number of other benefits, too, such as saving energy and reducing some of your bills.
Keep Cooling Houseplants
Plants are some of your best allies when it comes to keeping your home cool. This is true both inside and out. Around your home’s exterior, plants that provide shade can prevent sunlight from penetrating your home and raising the temperature. Inside your home, you can keep potted plants that naturally cool the surrounding air. Some of the species which can do this most effectively include aloe vera, areca palms, ficus trees and ferns. In addition to keeping air cool, these plants can absorb toxins and generally improve the overall quality of air that is found inside your home.
Landscaped front yard of a house with flowers and green lawn
Invest in HVAC Maintenance
Air conditioning is essential in many areas during the summer. As much as you might like to reduce your usage, some days are simply too hot to do without. You may not be able to quit using your AC completely, but you can ensure that you are using it as efficiently as possible by investing in air conditioner cleaning. When you call a professional to perform HVAC maintenance, including air conditioner cleaning, you are preventing many of the problems that cause inefficiency and ineffectiveness. This means your HVAC unit will likely work better and longer after service from a professional.
Make Small Adjustments
There are plenty of little things around the house that you can do that will cumulatively make a big difference in the temperature of your home. Switching to cooler cotton sheets, for example, can prevent you from overheating at night. If you have the fans turned on in your home, set a bowl of cold water nearby so that the breeze is directed towards it and creates a nice mist. Avoid doing any cooking in the house or anything else that may raise the temperature substantially. Little changes can help you prevent excessive heat from building up throughout the house.
Save Energy and Money
Energy and heat often go hand in hand throughout the home, so by reducing one, you are often reducing the other, too. Think about all of the appliances that are using the most energy, and consider whether you can turn them off. Unplugging your TV or microwave might not seem like a huge step, but when you unplug several of your biggest energy eaters, you might notice a difference. In addition to potentially cooling the temperature of your home, doing this will lower your energy bills, help you save money and offset the cost of running your AC.
Staying cool can certainly be a challenge, but these tips should make it easy and fun to do so. Even though the heat of summer is inevitable, overheating does not have to be. Keep your home as cool as possible and survive the highest of summer’s temperatures by following the aforementioned advice.