IN THIS POST
– Add a window to your house
– Install a heat exhaust fan
– Hang insulated or reflective blinds
– Install awnings over windows and doors
Summers in Pakistan can be quite hot. The soaring temperatures, frequent heatwaves and the fear of high electricity bills can make you feel like you’re trapped inside an oven with no way out. When the weather gets too harsh, using your air-conditioner intermittently and running the fan on full speed seem like the only options to keep your house cool during summer. However, the truth is that you need to get the hot air out of your house for it to feel a little cooler.
In order to help you survive the next few months of summer, we’ve put together a list of home improvement projects to balance the temperature in your house. Of course, some of these ways to make your house feel cooler may seem slightly expensive, but considering how they can make your life easier for years to come, they should be considered one-time investments.
How to Keep Your House Cool During Summer
Wondering how to cool down a room without AC? Well, here are some ideas that will help you balance the temperature in your house.
- Add a window to your house
- Install a heat exhaust fan
- Hang insulated or reflective blinds
- Install awnings over windows and doors
Let’s further discuss each of these ideas to keep your house cool during the summer.
Add a window to your house
Cooling down a windowless room can be quite difficult. Ventilation is the key to balancing the temperature, you should consider adding a window to a blank wall in order to get rid of the hot air present inside the house.
For this purpose, it is always better to get an expert opinion along with doing some research of your own on the placement of windows. You also need to make sure your home improvement project won’t go against any construction bylaws laid out by your housing society.
While this idea may not be suitable for those living in a rental, you can still try and discuss this with your landlord.
Moreover, apart from allowing better air circulation in order to keep your house cool during summer, adding a window to an existing wall has several other benefits. For starters, it will allow for natural light to stream into the room, which is good for your health and can help improve the mood. It can also help lower your electricity bill each month as you won’t have to turn on the lights during the day. Secondly, a new window can provide you with better views of the outside world. Lastly, this project can add value to your home in the long run.
For more information, you can take a look at our comprehensive guide on popular types of windows and their rates in Pakistan.
Install a heat exhaust fan
If adding a window is not an option, then you should consider installing a heat exhaust fan to keep your house cool in the summer. These fans are small in size and usually come with an outdoor shutter to both maintain the privacy of your home and keep small bugs out.
Exhaust fans work by sucking hot and humid air out of a small area, which in turn allows fresh air to enter the room from the window or doorway. Since kitchens are usually the hottest rooms in any house during summer, it is recommended to install an exhaust fan on a wall near the stove or cooking range. Similarly, you should consider installing one in your bathroom as well.
If you are dealing with a window-less living room, you can install a small heat exhaust fan on an inconspicuous area of the wall to get the hot air out of your house. It is an efficient and budget-friendly way to cool down a room without windows.
Hang insulated or reflective curtains and blinds
While replacing your regular drapes with light and flowy curtains is one of the top home décor trends for summer, sometimes they are just not enough to cool down a room that faces the sun.
Even if you turn on the air-conditioner, the rooms facing the sun generally take a longer time to cool down compared to the rest of the house. Similarly, they tend to get hot quicker than other parts of the home as soon as you turn off the AC. The best way to keep the heat out and the cool air inside is to replace your normal curtains with insulated ones.
Insulated curtains have an outer decorative layer that is lined with an inner reflective film. It basically allows you to maintain a certain temperature inside your home for a prolonged time, effectively cutting down on your electricity bill. With these curtains, you’ll be able to cool down a room with a fan without using ACs around the clock.
Moreover, these curtains and blinds are available in a variety of colours and patterns, so you won’t have much trouble finding the ones that will complement your colour palette and overall home décor.
It is also important to mention that insulated curtains can also be used to keep your home warm during the winter months.
Meanwhile, if you can’t decide whether to choose curtains or blinds, our detailed comparison between the two will help you out.
Install awnings over windows and doors
Installing awnings on sun-facing doors and windows is also one of the most efficient ways to cool down a house during the summer months. They can keep your house cool in extreme heat while simultaneously reducing your air-conditioning costs and safeguarding the interior furniture against the sunlight.
An awning is essentially a type of cover or a supplemental roof that is installed to protect windows and doors from the sun’s harsh glare. It can help keep the air inside your home from getting warm while enhancing your house’s exterior décor.
There are several types of awnings available in the market, including stationary, portable and retractable. As far as the material is concerned, awnings are usually made of cloth, wood or aluminium.
If you want to balance the temperature in your house and cool down a room that faces the sun, installing awnings should be one of your top choices.
Another widely-popular way to protect walls from direct sun heat is to insulate your home. Generally, four types of insulation are used in homes across Pakistan: Polyurethane insulation, polystyrene insulation, insulation via Rockwool and fibreglass insulation. You can find out more about insulating your home in our in-depth guide on the topic.
Moreover, here are some tips on making your air cooler perform better this summer and avoiding high AC bills. Also, just in case you are planning to buy a new cooling unit, you might want to check out the differences between an inverter and normal air-conditioners before reaching a decision.
If you have any other ideas to get rid of the heat trapped inside your house or cool your house without air conditioning, feel free to share them with us by dropping a message on blog@zameen.com.
For more tips to keep your house cool naturally, stay connected to Zameen Blog – the best construction and real estate blog in Pakistan. Also, if you’re interested in receiving the latest updates about lifestyle, home décor and property trends, make sure to subscribe to our newsletter on the right.
