When you search online for advice on how to cool your apartment without air conditioning, the first idea will often be to use a fan with some chilled bottles of water in front of it. This doesn’t work very well, so here are five tips to help you “really” survive the summer in an apartment without air conditioning.
Cooling an apartment without using air conditioning can be a temporary solution until a technician can repair the AC, but many people find that their apartment is much more comfortable without it. Most people can’t get through the whole summer without air conditioning, but it’s definitely possible to delay turning it on much longer than you might think at first.
Of course, the better the wall insulation, the longer the apartment will resist the heat. Here, we’ll share some practical tips on how to cool your apartment without air conditioning without significant financial investment.
Use the Night to Cool Your Apartment
Nighttime is your biggest ally during most of the summer. The trick is to open all the windows you can at night and let the draft cool the apartment until the early morning hours. It’s not enough to open the windows early in the morning before the outside temperature rises to ventilate the apartment. As soon as you close them, it will be warm and stuffy again.
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You need to make the most of the fresh night air, which will cool the furniture and walls over time, so the apartment will resist the heat much longer during the day. With good external wall insulation, this trick can completely replace air conditioning. The only problem is those hottest summer waves when the air is hot even at night. Then, air conditioning doesn’t seem like such a bad option.
Track the Sun’s Movement
During the day, track where the sun is and use window blinds accordingly. Naturally, the blinds on sunlit windows should be lowered. Other windows can be opened as needed to let the draft cool you. For this technique to be effective, you need external blinds or shutters to keep the sun out from the outside of the glass.
Venetian blinds and curtains are not very helpful. They will only create an illusion of sun protection by darkening the room. But both curtains and Venetian blinds will heat up in the sun and efficiently transfer heat into the apartment.
Eliminate Carpets
Removing carpets can make a big difference, not just subjectively. During hot days, it will be much more pleasant to walk on parquet or laminate than on carpets. This trick will also help make the apartment easier to maintain, as there will be less dust.
Summer is also a good opportunity to take the carpets for cleaning, as they will dry much better, and sun drying will have a sterilizing effect, eliminating most mites and other billions of invisible living beings.
Cotton is Your Friend
Cover armchairs and all upholstered furniture with cotton covers. If high-quality cotton covers are too expensive, regular cotton sheets will do just fine. They are easy to wash and dry quickly, so you can sit on your new armchair or sofa even without a shirt or in shorts.
Turn Off Unnecessary Electrical Devices
Place your hand behind the case of a home desktop computer when it’s on. You will feel the flow of warm air. The same goes for the TV, not to mention kitchen appliances. Therefore, turn off all electrical devices that can be turned off.
Replace traditional light bulbs with LED lighting. Five regular 100-watt bulbs will heat the apartment similarly to a 500-watt heater. LED bulbs will heat your apartment about ten times less and consume approximately the same amount less electricity.