How to keep your home cool this summer?

After a tiring day in the heat and dust of the city, all you want to do is go back home and switch on the AC. But, air conditioner is not the solution every time. Have you thought about the other ways to keep your home cool?

Here are some tips to ensure that your home stays cool, with or without air conditioner:

1. Maintain your AC: Clean your AC regularly and more frequently during summers. Their efficiency will go up and can make a difference to the temperature of the room. Start with the filters where dust settles the most. The performance of ill-maintained air conditioners is at least five to ten percent lesser than the ones that are regularly cleaned. Call the maintenance guy at least twice a year. Combine the use of AC with ceiling fans to spread the cool air around the room faster. This can help increase the cooling that an AC provides and cut down on the electricity bills. Seal all the vents that let out ducts to make sure the cooler air stays inside.

2. Keep out unwanted heat: Keep out the heat during hotter hours of the day. Though you might feel that leaving windows open will let in the air, it will only serve in letting in the heat if it is extremely hot. Keep the doors and windows closed in the afternoon and open them in the evening when the temperature goes down. That will let in the cool air. If it is not possible for you, close all the windows - at least, close the ones that bring in direct sunlight.

3. Use white window shades/blinds: The age-old trick of using white coloured window blinds and shades can cool your home by a great degree. Bamboo shoots around the window are the best heat absorbers that you can find. A number of new-age blinds are made of bamboos. Choose tightly the woven ones to ensure the air is cooler as it crosses them. Many people in hotter areas of the country also invest in window reflector films that let in the light and keep out the heat.

4. Cook during cooler hours of the day: Cooking generates a lot of heat and tends to linger especially in smaller homes, like apartments. Delay or advance your cooking hours earlier in the morning or later in the evening. That can ensure that heat is lower. Using a lot of machinery also generates heat in the house like washing machines and steam irons. When they are not in use, unplug them.

5. Turn off the lights: Florescent bulbs generate a lot of heat. Turn them off when they are not in use. If possible, replace them with LED lights that do not generate as much heat.

6. Use cooling mats: Replace the sheets on the bed and sofa covers with cotton fabrics. Also use straw and bamboo mats that absorb heat.   

(Katya Naidu has been working as a business journalist for the last nine years, and has covered beats across banking, pharma, healthcare, telecom, technology, power, infrastructure, shipping and commodities)