Best Ways to Cool your Home Without Air Conditioner in the Heat of Singapore
Using Air Conditioners in the home, especially in such a warm country as Singapore is fantastic; until, electric bills start to skyrocket and wallets can’t take it anymore. There are a vast number of ways to keep your house cool without breaking the bank. Most of these methods are actually friendlier to the environment and naturally beneficial to your family. Check out some of the awesome ways you can keep your house cooler in Singapore without using an air-conditioner.
Close your window blinds
If you don’t want your home to accommodate all the heat and sunlight from outside, you’ll be better off blocking the heat by closing your blinds. At least 30 percent of unwanted outside heat comes through windows, thus closing blinds during the warmer times of the day is effective in keeping the temperature lower.
Change your bed sheets
To maintain a cool room and bed, the materials used for the bed sheets and pillowcases can make a lot of difference. Using non-breathable materials such as nylon, silk or satin, can only make the bed warmer by trapping more heat. Cotton however is more breathable and allows for fresh cool air. It’s time to change your bed sheets to cotton, to keep your house and rooms cool at night.
Apart from considering the materials used for your bedsheets, it will also help if you seasonally change your sheets altogether. This will keep the rooms fresh and cooler. You can also get some buckwheat pillows which are noted for allowing natural air space.
Unplug unused appliances
Electronic appliances use a lot of heat even when they are not in use and are still plugged. Ensure that you unplug all your appliances including fans, toasters, irons, and chargers whenever you are not using them to avoid trapping all the excess heat they produce.
Turn on Bathroom Fans
Bathroom exhaust fans are not only great for getting rid of moisture, but are excellent at sucking out all the hot air. When this happens, cooler air is allowed in thus keeping the air in your home much cooler even without using an air conditioner.
Watch your doors
You may think that leaving doors open in the house will allow more fresh air into the rooms, but the fact is it may do more harm than good. A lot of heat from outside usually travels through doors. As such, it is advisable to keep doors, especially to unused rooms closed always. Keep in mind that the more light you allow, the more heat is produced. Thus you are better off keeping your doors closed tight while the home is darker in order to avoid excessive heat.
Keep your body cool
Sometimes, the focus shouldn’t just be on keeping the house breezy, but your individual body temperatures need to cool down even more. After all, when there is heat, it is your body that feels the effects first. There are several things you can do to keep your body temperature low. These include the following:
- drinking colder water and iced drinks
- bathing colder water
- placing ice on strong pulsed areas such as wrists, necks and feet
You can make use of hot water bottles by freezing them and occasionally placing them on your feet, or simply dipping your feet into a bowl of cool water when you feel too warm in the house.
No Incandescent lights
Most of the light bulbs used in our homes are not energy efficient. In fact, they also contribute massively to the heat problem by radiating excess heat. Instead of using incandescent lights, switch to energy-efficient bulbs, or those known as compact fluorescent light bulbs to keep your house cooler.
Wash and Bake in the Night
This is another weird tip that can help keep your house cool without using an AC. Large appliances such as washing machines, ovens, dishwashers and dryers give off high levels of heat. You can reschedule their use to evening hours when the temperature is much cooler and their excessive heat effect will not be too much.
Grill more, Avoid Stoves
Stoves and Ovens are pretty useful, but in an already-warm house they will increase the level of heat produced. An effective way of maintaining a cooler atmosphere particularly in the kitchen is to only use stoves or ovens in the early mornings when the weather isn’t too hot. Or better still, you can prepare dinners that don’t necessarily require heating. Instead of using stoves, make use of crock pots, rocket stoves, grills, or simply cook outside to prevent heating up the house.
Use Dehumidifiers
In order to suck out moist heat from the home, consider using dehumidifiers. You can save on electricity bills with this method by using a dehumidifier that goes off when the level of humidity in the house drops below the set level. You can also use the water gathered to water your plants.
Ventilate your Attic
Since your attic is most likely hotter than all other parts of the house, it is prudent to ensure that it is properly ventilated so that it does not trap so much heat that it affects the entire household. You can either install roof-mounted fans or gable fans to keep the place cool. It is also helpful to keep its walls well-insulated from top to bottom to avoid heat from entering the other parts of the house.
White roofing
The color of your roofing matters when trying to keep a cool temperature in the home. A black roof for instance can generate 100 degrees more heat on a warm day. To keep a cool atmosphere, the best color of roofing to choose is white since it reflects the heat coming in, instead of plainly absorbing it.
Green Up
Another way of improving your house’s air quality is to add some houseplants. Strategically placing plants inside the house give room to absorb all the chemicals in poorly ventilated areas, while creating a cooler flow of air.
Wear the right clothes
When the house is warm, a good tip is to not make it even warmer by wearing clothes that trap heat for your own body. Always keep your clothing loose and minimal. Instead of wearing silky clothing, it is more advisable to sleep in cotton pajamas which are more breathable and allow a free flow of air. During the day, you might also want to opt for shorts rather than pants, and a tank top to keep your body temperature cooler.
Freeze your bed sheets and Pajamas
As weird as this tip may seem, it is proven to be one of the effective ways to keep cool at night without using air-conditions. Before air-conditions were invented, people were using this method to keep their own body temperature cool. You could also place a Chillow underneath your head or place a frozen water bottle at the foot side of your bed to maintain the coolness. Once your body temperature stays cool, it will be difficult to feel the heat and you’ll eventually be more comfortable in your house.
*Ceiling Fans
In the stead of using air conditioners, ceiling fans are proven to be one of the most tremendous ways of keeping the home cool. They allow the air to constantly move around the house, leaving the rooms cooler than normal. It is also crucial to preserve the available ceiling fans by regularly cleaning them, polishing its blades, fixing any kind of wobbling and frequently oiling them to keep them working efficiently.
Counter-clockwise rotation of the ceiling fan
Another way to increase the circulation of cool air in your house without the use of an AC is to set the ceiling fans to rotate in a counter-clockwise manner. This adjustment helps to push the air down, creating a wind-chill effect which will keep the house cooler. During the summer or warmer days, ensure that the fan’s speed is increased as well.
Plant trees and install awnings
If the sun is continually brooding over your house because it lacks adequate protection, you might have to consider a more permanent form of protection. You can solve this problem by planting some shade trees, adding awnings to your windows, or even covering your porches. The goal here is to provide enough shade so that the sun does not directly beat down on your home and cause more heat.
Cross breezes with box fans
Box fans are extremely effective for airing your house, especially if you do it right. A very strategic way of utilizing a box fan is to place it across an open window. In that case, they’ll pull out the heat, creating a cross breeze which will keep your house really cool.
Get rid of damp stuff
Wet towels, damp laundry and dishes are often overlooked in the home; however their presence creates a lot of humidity. To keep a cooler and fresher atmosphere, ensure that all your laundry and towels are dried outside, dishes are dried out before being placed in cabinets, and wet umbrellas are dried before being stored in the home.
Consider suspending your bed
For a home with no air conditioning, a clever trick to keep cool especially during your sleep time is to suspend your bed. Once your bed is above ground, it is easier to have better airflow since the air can circulate all around you. If you can comfortably rest in or on a hammock or cot, all the better.
Whole House Fans
This is a great investment as compared to the air conditioner since it uses just about ten percent of a traditional AC unit’s energy. It is also a much cheaper option to install. The advantage about whole house fans is that unlike the AC’s which use chemicals to circulate cooled air, these ones are designed to naturally get rid of heat.
Blackout Curtains
In order to block out the sunlight, you can invest in getting blackout curtains which can naturally insulate the house. Also make use of neutral colored curtains which have white plastic backings, as they are known to reduce heat by about 33 percent.
Use the Basement
When temperatures are extremely hot, you can stay cooler by sleeping at the lowest level in the house, which in most cases is the basement. Basements are often much chillier than the rest of the house. Simply clean it out by removing all the clutter, organize the storage, install a few fans and you’re good to go. If you don’t have a basement, you can simply place your mattress on the floor. Since heat rises, it is always colder on the ground.
Night Flush
The air is breezier in the night when the sun is down. Singaporeans who don’t want to use air conditioners can take advantage of the night breeze by flushing out all the hot air during the night. You can do this by opening the top of your windows to allow the night air in, while leaving the ceiling fan on to blow out the heat and circulate that cool air. Make sure however that you shut the windows and blinds in the morning before the sun comes out, in order to leave the cool air trapped in while the sun is blocked.
Ice Technique
Before the era of air conditions, people tried various ways to keep the home cold during summer or hot weathers like those that take place year round in Singapore. One of these effective techniques involved using ice and fans. Simply place some ice in a huge bowl, and put the bowl at an angle where the fan can easily blow right across. Whenever the fan blows across the ice, it produces a cool breeze that is soothing on warm days.
