Summer is a fun season with plenty of outdoor activities. It can also be scorching hot indoors, especially when there’s no power. We’ve all gone through this; your fans stop working, the air conditioning system ceases humming, and the ice maker starts to melt. Spending the next few hours or days in a hot and stuffy house can be overwhelming as the temperature rises. Too much heat leaves you feeling hot, sweaty, and uncomfortable. You can figure out other alternatives on how to cool your house without electricity.
There are solutions. This article will discuss the most effective strategies to help you stay cool and comfy in your house during an outage. From simple hacks like opening doors and windows to more advanced techniques like building a DIY solar-powered air conditioner whether you live in a hot and humid area or want to prepare for an emergency.
Your Air Conditioning System Is Not the Only Solution
The AC unit is the most popular remedy for cooling down your home. However, how can you reduce the heat in your home during a power outage? It’s essential to know how to cool your house without electricity. We all know that the air conditioning system requires massive electricity to run. That means more fossil fuels must be burnt, impacting our environment negatively. What if millions had to turn on their AC units at once?
In other words, the more our air conditioning systems run, our climatic conditions worsen. Furthermore, the power grid strains and eventually leads to blackouts. However, you can keep your house cool without electricity during a power outage by doing the following simple tips and tricks:
Close Your Windows During the Day
The first thing you should do to cool your house when the power goes out is to keep as much cool air as possible. Close off the windows in your house during the day to keep sunlight out. Most people believe opening their windows wide can allow cool and pleasant air into the house. That’s a wrong perception. It’ll only bring in more hot air making your home even hotter. It would help to close the windows to keep the remaining cool air inside.
Close Blinds and Curtains During the Day
An efficient way to cool your house without electricity keeping the curtains and blinds closed. Although it may seem ineffectual, especially to those who want to get a kick out of the breeze, it’s the first thing you should do.
Not only does it lower the amount of sunlight that enters your house through the windows, but it also cools down the surging heat in your house. Furthermore, closing the blinds can help you avoid the greenhouse effect of sunlight penetrating through the glass, raising temperatures in the house.
Open Your Doors and Windows at Night
Your goal is to create as much airflow as possible. Opening your doors and windows at night when the air is cooler can help you cool your house without electricity. That is, the hot air in your house is released, and cooler air is allowed to enter. Also, when you open doors and windows, the cool breeze circulates throughout your space, bringing down the temperatures indoors.
Avoid Cooking Indoors
Microwaves and stoves generate a lot of heat in your home. And cooking inside can increase the temperature in your house. Avoid cooking indoors when it’s hot and sunny as much as possible since the heat can linger long. Cook outdoors if you can to keep your home cool.
Turn on Your Appliances During Nighttime
Did you know your home appliances produce heat when they’re running? Well, if you have to use your dryer, the vacuum cleaner, the dishwasher, and the heater, among other appliances, it should be during nighttime. That is when the temperatures are modest.
And, when they’re running, you should ensure that the windows are open to allow the heat to escape.
Unplug the Electronic Devices and Chargers
Ensure that you unplug all electronic devices and chargers when not in use since they also produce heat. These gadgets can lead to unnecessary heating in your house.
Swap out Incandescent Bulbs
Not only do your incandescent bulbs emit a lot of heat in your house, but they also run up electric bills. However, switching to fluorescent or energy-saving light bulbs can help you reduce the heat in your house. Furthermore, they can save you from incurring high energy costs.
Install Awnings on Your Windows and Doors
The supplemental roof or cover(a perfect alternative to trees) can be fitted above your windows and doors to protect your house from solar heat gain.
If your property receives direct sunlight, awnings can help you’re wondering how to cool your house without electricity. They can reduce solar heat gain by up to 75 percent.
Humidifying Your House
Adding extra humidity to the air can help cool your house. Not only does humidifying your house remove dry air that can affect your skin and wood fixtures, but it also helps reduce the heat in the house.
You can humidify your house in the following ways:
- Adding moisturizing elements: Cook foods that use boiling water. As the water boils, it evaporates into the air adding moisture to your living space.
- Leave your bathroom door open while showering: The steam from your shower permeates your house, adding water to the dry air.
- Place vessels of water in your house: It acts as a humidifier. Placing water vessels around the rooms in your house enables moisture to evaporate into the air reducing the adverse effects of heat.
- Dampen your curtains: Moisten your curtains with fresh water. Water evaporates as the sunlight hits them, eventually adding moisture to the surrounding.
You can also hang a thick fabric or a damp cloth in open windows and doorways to prevent the hot air from seeping into your space. Furthermore, dampen your sheets before bed.
Adding Blackout Curtains to Your Windows
Ordinary window blinds may not be as effective in protecting your home from heat as blackout curtains. These curtains can help you regulate the sunlight coming into your house. Blackout curtains are thick and dark with a white reflective backing to reflect the sunlight and ensure it doesn’t penetrate your house.
Making Use of Fans
Making use of fans is a great way to cool your house. We all know that fans need electricity to run. But what if there’s a power outage? Will they operate? Well, there’s an easier way out! Solar panels can also power your fans. Fans are cost-effective since they don’t need much energy to run and can be powered by even the smallest solar panels – approximately 1-3 Watts of power per hour.
Place the solar-powered fans across from open windows to create a cooling cross breeze. For window box fans, let them blow air into your house when it’s cool outside and outwards when it’s hottest. You can also readjust your ceiling fans to rotate counterclockwise. It helps pull hot air up and out, making your house create a cooling breeze.
Utilizing a DIY Evaporative Cooling System
A DIY Evaporative Cooling System is a cheap and easy way to cool your home. While it might be a short-term solution, it’s a smart, efficient, and cost-effective way of cooling your house when the power goes out. You don’t need to be a professional to make one. The DIY Evaporative System harnesses evaporation’s cooling power to cool your house without electricity. You can easily create your evaporative cooling system in the following simple steps:
- Cut a hole on top of a large styrofoam cooler box
- Place a tray of ice below the box
- Angle your solar-powered fan to blow air into the box
As the fan blows air into the box, it gets cooled as it passes over the ice creating a cooling effect in your house when temperatures rise.
Need More Alternative Ways to Cool Your House During Outage?
Power outages can be challenging, especially during summer when temperatures are extremely high. However, with these tips and tricks, you can ensure your house stays cool and comfortable. You should know when to close your doors and windows and when to open them, and avoid doing activities that can raise temperatures in your house. There’s nothing you can do about power outages, but you can learn how to make the best out of the dreadful heat of summer.
Now that you’ve gotten a few tips and tricks on how to cool your house without electricity during an outage, it would be helpful to know that electricity is not the only solution to cool down the heat. Having solar energy in your home is the best sustainable energy alternative. You need to be intelligent!
Are you looking for a substitute source of energy? Contact us to get started on your journey to alternative clean, and affordable energy. At ONIT Home, we offer affordable and licensed professional solar services including consultation, installation, maintenance, and repair. Call us at 1-833-433-0331 today for more information and to get a quote. For all your energy needs, we’re ONIT!