As the height of summer arrives, temperatures are soaring all over the northern hemisphere. With national and local lockdowns still in place over much of the world, everyone is still spending more time at home than they’re usually accustomed to, and if your home isn’t equipped for the heat, you may find that you’re struggling to get cool during the hot weather.
With that in mind, here are some home improvements you can make that will help keep you cool in the summer months.
Quick and Easy Improvements
Here are a few almost-instant improvements that you can make to cool down your home immediately:
Change Your Sheets
Invest in bedding that will helpkeep you cool. In winter, it might make sense to have a thick comforter or even fleece-lined sheets, but in summer, you should swap out to natural fabrics rather than synthetics. This can help you regulate your temperature and sleep even when it’s roasting hot out!
Change the Curtains
Curtains can be used to insulate the house, and in the summer, this means keeping the cool air in and the hot air out. Buying a pair of thick curtains or drapes may feel counterintuitive, but it can make a big difference. Keep them closed during very hot days to prevent the sunline from streaming in.
Paint the Walls
If the rooms in your house are a particular color, you could feel hotter than you would if they were painted a different color. That’s because of something called color psychology.
People’s brains can make them feel particular emotions or feelings when they encounter particular colors, and this can even affect how hot or cold you feel. If you live in a room with “warm” colors—reds and oranges, for example—you’re likely to feel hotter.
Therefore, it’s a good idea to paint the walls of your home cooler tones like pale blue, pale yellow, or off-white.
Long-Term Improvements
These quick and easy improvements can make some difference, but if you really want to cool your home down, there are some bigger changes to make that will be more effective.
Install Air Conditioning
If you don’t already have it, installing air conditioning in your home will make a huge difference to the indoor temperature. If you buy an air conditioning unit, you’ll be able to easily regulate the temperature in your home, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Buying an air conditioner doesn’t have to be expensive, either—check out the refurbished units at PTAC4Less.
Install New Windows
If the windows on your property are old, they may be thin and single glazed. Double glazing can hugely improve the insulation of your home, and this can help to keep the temperature cool when it’s hot outside. Window technology now exists that is almost as effective as a wall at insulating, so it could really make all the difference if you’re trying to keep cool!
Keeping cool at home can feel like a difficult task, but with these easy methods, you can feel more comfortable all year round.