Summer is about to ramp up, and that means the searing sun coming into your living room day after day. And though hot summers in the south, especially, are as inevitable as the sun rising each day, it’s imperative that your family be protected from the worst of it.

And even if you run into a problem such as your air conditioner not cooling air properly, there are plenty of ways to keep your home cool and comfortable for yourself and your family in Houston all summer long.

In this blog, we’ll lay out a few other methods that can aid in cooling your home, apartment or dwelling during those sweltering summer afternoons. So without further ado, let’s jump right into the tips.

1.    Close the blinds

This may not seem like it matters, but it absolutely plays a key role in keeping rooms throughout your dwelling at their coolest state possible. Any extra bit of heat that makes its way through those blinds is an extra degree seeping in and creating issues for you. The idea of curling up in a chair and gazing out the window while reading a book may seem like a good idea, but the summer might not be the best time to test it. So close the blinds whenever possible.

2.    Close doors to open or unused rooms

Any room that is not being used usually does not need to be cooled – thus if its door is open and letting cool air in, that is taking away air that could be used to cool the areas of your home that are the most populated or most often utilized. It’s a small thing, but we can all relate to wanting every extra bit of cool air that we can find in the midst of a hot southern summer.

3.    Get a portable air conditioning unit

This handy little device can be a life-saver if you encounter any sort of problem with your air conditioning unit, or it can serve to complement it. There may be some places in your home, apartment, or dwelling where the cool air simply cannot reach due to its location or a number of other various factors. Placing a portable unit in those spaces that maybe cannot quite be reached by circulating cool air – or anywhere, really – can be a boon to your summer comfort.

4.    Run ceiling fans counterclockwise

Another helpful tip that that may seem insignificant is the direction your fan spins. However, it can make a big difference in the cooling effect of air in your home. Running the fans counterclockwise pushes the cool air straight down instead of just pushing around the warmer air that you’re in fact attempting to get out of your home.

5.    Switch or turn off lightbulbs

This one might seem a little off the wall, but hear us out. The incandescent lightbulbs used by many lights, lamps and more give off heat themselves, and there’s not really any true need to have them on during the day anyway. So to help keep your home as comfortable as possible, turn off those lights whenever possible during the summer to conserve the amount of coolness in the house.

And if you do want to keep the lights on, there are also a few different types of bulbs that don’t burn as hot available for use.

Clare Louise