I enjoy the idea of summer as much as the next girl – Catchy summer songs, more skin showing on the street, delicious ice cream, the beach and the sunshine… All of these sounds more than delightful. However, there’s absolutely no songs ever written about staying at home in summer, which is an inevitable part of life. It sure feels nice to just relax, watch some TV while cranking up the air-conditioner, that kind of stuff that’s made for a lazy Sunday afternoon. And when it comes to places that are summer all year long like Singapore, it’s hard not to seek help from our loyal friend, air conditioner, to keep the house nice and cool, both when you’re sitting in the living room enjoying a glass of iced tea with air conditioner running in the background and the chill in your heart when you see the numbers on your utility bills.
Turn off that AC!
And that’s when you say something has got to change. There are a lot of eco-friendly air conditioners in the market at the moment, but you know what’s more eco-friendly than eco-friendly air conditioner? No air conditioning at all.
This might sound a little crazy, even dreadful to some, but with the help of a few tricks here and there, you might just make it! Read on to see the tricks that can help keep you cool around the house without AC!
Unplug
You might not notice, but a small amount of heat is generated when your electronics and other small appliances are plugged, even when they’re not in use. Go around the house and unplug away to save some energy and reduce the heat in the house.
Is your ceiling fan doing its part?
In summer, your ceiling fan should be set to run counter clockwise to circulate cool air.
Incandescent lights, out!
If you haven’t already, replace your incandescent lights with CFL or LED light bulbs to reduce both energy used and heat. While you’re at it, look at a few more options for everything else in the house to find a lower energy consumption option, the less energy is required, the less heat it is giving off.
Windows
Open up your windows and let the breeze in, this also help the air circulation. If you really don’t want to or can’t open your windows, consider using window films with sun control on your windows, these films are known for reducing the heat when the sun shines through your big glass window as well as UV protection.
The shades
What is the color of your windows shades or screens? Not black or anything dark, I hope. Lighting colors, namely white, rejects warmth and sunlight instead of absorbing it like black does. If you feel like there is already a lot of white in your interior design and want to mix things up a little, woven and bamboo shades are also excellent at keeping the heat out.
Pay attention to your body temperature
What you are really trying to avoid is “feeling” hot, a cold shower or some ice cold beverage can do the trick. Additionally, you can also soak a small towel in ice cold water, apply it on your body after rinsing off the excessive water.
The long term game plan
Of course, you can’t be showering once every 2 hours, not only is it a waste of water, your skin will also dry up pretty quickly when that happens. If you’re living in a place like Singapore, it makes sense to commit to a long term plan and do a little more to keep the house cool without air conditioning, for example, the previously mentioned window films that keep the heat and sun damage out is a good tool, if there’s space, you could also consider adding a little green to your interior design, plants and vines can serve as extra sunblock for the house and help with the breeze. Incorporate heat reducing features in your interior design, this should already be carefully planned for a place like Singapore. If your apartment is really outdated or getting a renovation, make sure you talk to your interior designer about heat reducing features, something interior designs in Singapore should especially be focused on.
