There's goose egg like walking out of a summer heat moving ridge and into the frigid condolement of ac. Simply for some homes, particularly those congenital before the 1950s, Ac isn't an pick. So how do you keep a house absurd in the summer without ac?

The reply: summertime-proof each floor, ane by one.

Here are the eighteen best ways to keep your house cool without Air-conditioning, from tiptop to bottom – starting with the attic.


How to Keep Your Home Cool Without Air Workout


Unfinished and Uninsulated Attic

All-time Ways to Cool a House:
In the Attic

1. Vent Your Attic

Attics take the brunt of the heat our homes confront during the summer, according to Scott Trento of QuietCool Whole Firm Fans:

Quiet Cool Systems Logo

"Your attic is typically 20 to thirty degrees hotter than the rest of your home. If at that place's non enough venting, it's going to trap a lot of hot air which tin can estrus up your entire habitation. Apply an attic fan to ameliorate ventilation."

Scott Trento | QuietCool Whole House Fans

Attic fans are typically either gable or roof-mounted. "Roof-mounted fans are installed on the exterior of your roof, while gable-mounted fans are installed right onto your existing vents," says Trento.

Installing gable mount fans is easy, as they are designed to attach to the existing vents of your attic. To install a roof mountain attic fan, y'all'll need to cut an opening for it – this is a little more work merely it creates a tighter seal and stronger suction, which helps cool your attic more efficiently.

For a cooling solution that adjusts to the weather, you can opt for a Smart Attic Fan, which automatically changes fan speeds depending on the temperature inside your attic. "Plus, the Smart Attic Fan is bully for DIYers because it'due south mostly plug-and-play," says Trento.


ii. Insulate Cranium Walls

Some other style to go on your domicile cool in the summer is to insulate your cranium from top to bottom. This will lower the amount of rut that enters your cranium and prevent information technology from escaping to the rest of the habitation below.


3. Opt for a White Roof

On a sweltering 24-hour interval, traditional blackness roof materials can become over 100 degrees hotter than the air effectually them. A white roof can be a great way to go along your house cool in the summer because it reflects heat instead of absorbing it, keeping the warmth from seeping into the residual of your domicile.

You can install white roof panels or utilise white roof coating if you accept a flat or metal roof.


Upstairs Hallway With Door Open to Bedroom

Best Ways to Cool a Firm:
Upstairs

4. Place Box Fans in Windows

Like the attic, your upstairs tends to trap rising rut and using window box fans is a nifty way to keep a firm cool in the summertime naturally. When cooling a room with fans in windows, face up them outward to vent the hot air out, specially when it'due south hotter outside.


five. Invest in the Right Ceiling Fans

"One of the best means to keep absurd without Air-conditioning is to install ceiling fans," according to cooling skillful Dan Nelson, senior director at Big Ass Fans.

"Anywhere people tend to congregate, whether it's the bedroom, living room or kitchen, those are the spaces where y'all're going to get the well-nigh do good from a ceiling fan," says Nelson.

Simply where the fans are installed is only the half of it; picking the right sized fan for your room is also important for effective cooling:

Big Ass Fans Logo

"Smaller rooms, effectually 15 feet past 15 feet or less don't need anything larger than a 52-inch ceiling fan. For 20 feet past 20 feet rooms, nosotros recommend a 60-inch fan. For larger rooms, xxx feet past 30 feet and higher up, you lot're going to want an 84-inch fan."

Dan Nelson | Big Ass Fans

New ceiling fans may be costly upfront simply they are much less expensive than installing and using AC in the long run. "Ceiling fans are incredibly energy efficient, and our Energy STAR® Certified Haiku fans really stand up out," says Nelson. "If yous run a Haiku fan not-terminate for a twelvemonth directly, you can wait to pay between $5 and $x in electricity."

Put to the same test, the nigh inefficient ceiling fans would cost around $120 per year, but even this is much cheaper than air conditioning. The cost to run cardinal air tin be as high equally $120 per calendar month – and that's if you lot only run it six hours a day.

Haiku Ceiling Fan in Bedroom Helping to Keep House Cool Without AC

DC-powered fans, like the Haiku by Big Ass Fans (pictured), are price-efficient and quiet, making them ideal for bedrooms.

Tips for Ownership Ceiling Fans to Cool a Room:

  • DC-powered fans use lxx per centum less energy than AC-powered fans and are much quieter.
  • Fans with fewer blades are more efficient – cull a fan with iii or four blades.
  • A fan with a steep blade pitch, around fifteen degrees, will move air amend than a fan with apartment blades.

6. Optimize the Fans Yous Have

If new fans aren't in the budget, you tin take steps to improve the ones you take.

Here are a few maintenance tips for cooling a room with fans more than efficiently:

Run Fans Counter-Clockwise: In the summertime, run your fans counter-clockwise on their highest setting to push air straight down and create a current of air chill effect. In the winter, set them back to clockwise on depression to slowly force warm air down into the room.

Clean Them Regularly: Keeping your ceiling fan dust-free isn't just aseptic – it can also help your fan work ameliorate. Dirt on fans can heat upwards the motor, which tin can make them run more slowly.

Smoothen the Blades: Polishing a fan's blades can reduce elevate, improving its power to move air. To practice this, remove the blades and wipe them down with a clammy fabric. Then, dry out and coat them with a light furniture or metal polish, depending on the material of your blades. Permit completely dry earlier reinstalling.

Fix Any Wobbling: If your fan is wobbling, it's working a lot harder than it has to and won't cool your room down well. Tighten or supplant loose screws in your fan, including within the low-cal fixture.

Oil Your Fan: Five to half-dozen drops of light machine oil tin get rid of annoying squeaking sounds and help the motor run more efficiently. But know that not all fans can be oiled – some motors are completely sealed up. Look upwardly your manufacturer's guide for instructions on oiling your ceiling fan.


Woman Using a BedJet Bed Cooling System to Keep Her Bed Cool Without AC

To keep cool while you sleep, utilize a pedestal fan or a BedJet (pictured) to push absurd air into your bed.

7. Spot-Absurd Your Bed

If you lot're trying to effigy out how to cool your bedchamber with fans, focus your efforts on your bed. Employ a pedestal fan to push cooler, middle-room air onto your bed while you sleep.

The climate-controlling BedJet fan uses the coolest air that sits on the floor of your room to help yous stay cool nether the covers on the hottest summer nights:

BedJet Logo"The BedJet is designed to become rid of the principal reason you're feeling hot and stuffy in bed: torso heat and wet. Information technology pulls air from the floor of your room which is typically a few degrees cooler than the temperature reading on your thermostat. It is really effective for keeping you cool in bed if your bedroom is 78 degrees and under."

Sarah McClutchy | BedJet


viii. Use Breathable Sheets

Breathable bedding is crucial to a absurd night'south slumber. Silk or sateen sheets are lite but tend to trap heat – stick to natural bedding materials like cotton fiber or bamboo for lightweight, informal coverage.


ix. Have a Night Cool-Downwards Routine

Having a cool-downward routine is a great manner to stay cool in the summer without Air-conditioning. Not merely does it keep your body temperature lower, but it can also assist continue your home absurd naturally.

Because concrete activity creates trunk estrus, start settling down almost an hour before bed, and turn off electronics likewise. So, start cooling yourself downward: drinkable plenty of ice h2o and pall a cold pack on the back of your neck.

"Taking a colder-than-normal shower before bed can assistance y'all cool down also," McClutchy adds.


10. Flush Out Hot Air in the Evenings

In improver to cooling yourself down, Dan Nelson as well suggests cooling your home down past "flushing" out hot air each night:

Big Ass Fans Logo"I matter nosotros recommend is a 'night flush' – open the tops of windows at night and circulate the fresh, libation dark air within with ceiling fans. Then in the morning, shut your windows and blinds to trap that cool air in, and then you tin start the twenty-four hour period off at a much lower temperature."

Dan Nelson | Big Donkey Fans


First Level of Home With Natural Lighting

Best Means to Cool a House:
Downstairs

11. Draw the Blinds

While natural light is great, too much of it can plow your domicile into a sauna during the summertime months. "Describe the blinds during the hottest parts of the day to keep heat out," says Nelson. "That will assistance continue the space cooler."

To double your protection against the sun's heat, invest in white-backed coma shades for your largest windows.


12. Avoid Using the Stove

Using your stove or oven will add unwanted rut to your kitchen. Endeavor to limit your cooking to the early on morning and plan dinners that don't require heating up, similar pasta salad or lettuce wraps. For a hot meal without a hot kitchen, try grilling out or using a crockpot.


13. Unplug Appliances Yous're Not Using

Plugged in electronics generate oestrus even when they're off or not in utilise, which can make an already hot home even hotter. Unplug things like toasters, fans or device chargers when you don't need them.


14. Turn on Bathroom Fans

Bathroom exhaust fans are great at keeping your home moisture-complimentary, just they tin likewise be a great way to go along your domicile absurd without AC by sucking hot air out and allowing cool air to replace it.


xv. Opt for Informal Wearable

When trying to go on a dwelling cool without Ac, it'south important to focus on keeping yourself – not the room – cool.

"Ceiling fans don't cool spaces down, they cool people down," says Dan Nelson. "If you tin keep yourself cool by wearing shorts instead of pants, or t-shirts instead of sweaters while you've got a fan running, you'll feel more comfortable and won't demand as much energy to cool off."

The correct pajama fabrics are important likewise, according to Sarah McClutchy: "If you lot're trying to stay cooler in bed during the summer, lightweight cotton wool pajamas are a great option, while wool and fleece should be avoided."


16. Add Outdoor Shade

You can keep your firm cool in the summer naturally by using shade to block heat from your home. Landscaping with trees tin can be great for privacy, only it can also keep the sun's rays off of your firm. You can besides install awnings to keep the sunlight off of your windows.


17. Switch to No-Oestrus Lightbulbs

Incandescent lightbulbs emit a lot of extra heat, so switching to low or no-heat bulbs similar compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs) is a simple style to keep your house cool in the summer.


Semi-Finished Basement Media Room with Laundry Machines in Back

All-time Ways to Absurd a Business firm:
In the Basement

eighteen. Create a Absurd Cave

Luckily, most basements stay fairly absurd year-circular. Use this to your advantage past creating a fun space to retreat to during the dog days of summer. Y'all'll experience more comfortable while using less cooling ability, saving you coin on your electric bills.

If your basement is a cluttered mess, first past organizing your storage and tossing what you don't demand – for a major decluttering, rent a dumpster for the weekend to handle your junk removal.

Then, make the space your own: add a few fans, a rug, some chairs and a projector to hook up to your laptop and you've got your very own, literally cool moving-picture show lair for the summer.


Still Hot? Endeavour a Whole House Fan

Quiet Cool Systems Whole House Fan Cooling a Home Without AC

If you lot've tried every last firm cooling hack and it withal feels like you're walking on the lord's day, y'all might want to invest in a whole house fan.

Whole business firm fans utilise simply ten per centum of the energy of a traditional Ac unit of measurement and are much cheaper to install. And dissimilar Ac which uses chemicals to push cooled air into your home, whole house fans are designed to pull heat out naturally.

Quiet Cool Systems Logo"Air-conditioning keeps cold air trapped inside, merely a whole house fan can actually absurd the mass of your domicile. It can pull out heat sitting in or on your walls, furniture and even appliances and vent it out through your cranium, keeping your home cooler overall. Whole business firm fans can also improve indoor air quality by keeping fresh air running through your firm."

Scott Trento | QuietCool Whole Firm Fans


Looking for more hot-conditions dwelling comeback tips?

Bank check out our favorite summer projects:

  • 15 Home Maintenance Tips to Bandbox up Your Home This Summer
  • 5 Easy DIY Garden Projects on a Budget
  • How to Use Plants to Repel Bugs

How do you continue your firm cool without AC? Let us know in the comments!