How To Keep Your Home Cool in Summer

Summer brings sunshine, warmth and often, rising indoor temperatures that can make your living space uncomfortable. Thankfully, with a few savvy tweaks to your ventilation, window management, and cooling routine, it’s possible to enjoy a fresher, more comfortable home throughout the entire season. Here’s how to keep your home cool in summer with easy, effective strategies.

Why Does a Hot Home Feel Worse Than Summer Heat? 

Modern, well insulated homes are energy efficient in winter, but that same tight sealing can trap humidity and pollutants in summer. Without good airflow, heat builds up indoors and stale air lingers, making your home feel stuffy and uncomfortable. Elevated indoor humidity also worsens sleep quality, concentration, and overall well-being.

How To Ventilate Your Home

Airing out your home is one of the simplest, cost free cooling methods. It involves opening all windows wide for 20–30 minutes early and late in the day, when the outside air is coolest and driest. The peak times for ventilation are before 10:00 a.m. and after 7:00 p.m. Use impact ventilation by opening windows fully, rather than keeping them ajar all day. 

How Does This Ventilation Method Work? 

• Cool air floods in, while warm, humid air exits, quickly reducing indoor temperature and moisture.

• Maximises cross ventilation to create a breeze.

• Opening windows and doors on opposite sides of a room or house creates a current of fresh air that pushes heat out.

• Enhance the effect by opening upper floor windows to let rising hot air escape. 

This strategy works especially well in homes with large windows or sliding doors, but even modest openings can be effective.

Use Windows, Vents and Fans Smartly

1. Keep Trickle Vents Open

These small vents on window frames allow continuous airflow without fully opening windows, ideal for background ventilation day and night.

2. Run Extractor fans

Utilise kitchen and bathroom fans to clear hot, humid air after cooking or showering, reducing indoor moisture buildup 

3. Position Fans Near Windows

Aim a tower fan and standing fans outward, so they push warm indoor air outside and pull in cooler air through other windows.

4. Stop Heat Before it Starts

• Keeping your home cool starts with blocking heat:

• Close curtains and blinds during the day (11 am–3 pm) to prevent solar heating.

• Consider thermal or blackout blinds or reflective films.

• Install solar reflective shutters or blinds on roof windows for loft spaces. 

Other Methods for Keeping Your Home Cool 

1. Indoor Greenery

Plants like peace lilies or rubber plants can reduce heat through transpiration and slightly increase humidity. 

2. Mirrors and Reflective Surfaces

Placing mirrors opposite windows helps bounce light, making spaces feel larger and airier. 

3. Close Off Unused Rooms

Heat loss from active spaces can be minimised when unused rooms are closed and their windows shut.

4. Avoid Heat Generating Appliances

Delay using the oven, tumble dryers, or heavy electronics until cooler times. Even standby devices contribute heat.

5. Use Light Bedding

Cotton or linen and other breathable fabrics help to maintain comfort overnight.

Does Double Glazing Make Your Home Hotter?

Windows play a major role in regulating your home’s temperature, and if your glazing is outdated or poorly fitted, it can significantly contribute to overheating in summer. Underperforming glazing allows more solar radiation and heat to pass through, trapping warm air inside and creating a greenhouse effect. 

Inadequate seals or gaps around window frames also let hot outdoor air seep in, making it harder to keep rooms cool even with ventilation. Upgrading to modern double or triple glazing with low emissivity (Low‑E) coatings can help reflect heat away from your home while still allowing in natural light. Combined with good shading and ventilation practices, efficient glazing makes a big difference in maintaining a comfortable indoor climate.

Keep Your Home Comfortable This Summer

You don’t need energy draining air conditioning to stay cool. By mastering the art of strategic ventilation, heat prevention, and smart airflow methods, you can transform your home into a comfortable sanctuary this summer.

By following our simple yet powerful steps, you’ll not only reduce indoor temperature but also enhance air quality, reduce humidity, and create a healthier, fresher living space. If you need help and advice, get in touch with Bluemanor today! Our expert team are happy to assist all homeowners.