If you live in a hot climate, you’re going to want to do everything in your power to keep your home cool. To avoid paying high energy costs and keep yourself and your family comfortable, it’s wise to find effective and creative ways that you can keep the hot air out and the cool air in. This can start with the overall design of your home as well as with the habits that you practice each day.
To help you see how you can ensure that your home is always comfortable, here are three design tips to keep a home cool in a hot climate.
Be Strategic About Your Windows
Your windows are one of the first and best places to start when seeking to keep your home cool in a hot climate. Not only can your windows help to keep hot air out, but they can also be used to let cool air in at the end of the day. The trick is to make sure that you’re using your windows strategically.
To do this, you’ll want to consider where your windows are placed. If you’re building your home, try to face your windows north-south so you’re ever getting direct sunlight and so you can allow for cross-ventilation. To keep the sunlight out even more, you can choose from options like installing sunscreens over your windows, using heavy drapes to block the light, or using something like a storm shutter if you live in a storm-prone area.
Put In Some Ceiling Fans
Despite your best efforts to keep all of the sunlight and heat out of your home, if you’re living in a particularly hot climate, you’re going to want to have some kind of way to have more cool air movement in your home.
While having an air conditioner can work wonders, you can also install ceiling fans around your home to more effectively push the air around and get the cool air back down where you can enjoy it. Just make sure you have the ceiling fans positioned so that they’re pushing the cool air the right way so that your rooms are kept night and breezy.
Make Wise Flooring Choices
The flooring that you have throughout your home can also make a big difference in how easy it is to keep your home cool when in a hot climate.
Thick, wooly rugs or carpeting can trap heat and make you feel hotter when standing on them. Knowing this, it’s wise to choose flooring that will serve to keep you cooler. Options like tile and wood will feel much cooler on your feet when you’re walking around your home. Then, when the temperature does drop in the winter season, you can always add thick, soft rugs to help keep a bit of the chill out when spending time at home.
If you live in a place where you’re always worried about staying cool under the scorching sun, consider implementing the tips mentioned above to help you design and decorate your home in such a way that it’s much easier for you to keep cool even in the hottest of temperatures.
