Cool Your Home the Natural Way

Air conditioners may offer tempting temporary relief from summer heat, but they're a huge environmental no-no. You may be cooling your home, but the fossil fuels you're burning in the process are only making your summers hotter. This summer, leave the air conditioner in storage and try these environmentally-friendly alternatives instead.

Insulate your home effectively. Efficient insulation, caulking, and weatherstripping will certainly keep your home warm in the winter, but they also help to keep the heat out in the summer. You can insulate from the outside, too by shading your home with trees, shrubs, or vines. All told, well-positioned landscaping and systematic use of blinds can reduce your cooling costs by 40 per cent.

Think physics. Create a thermal chimney effect in your home. Open up the windows on the ground floor of your house on one side only the side which will allow the breeze to come in. Open the windows on the top floor of your house on the opposite side. The result is a conveyor belt effect, sucking cool air in at the bottom and pushing the warm air out at the top. Well-placed fans pointing inward on the window sill downstairs, and outward upstairs will make your thermal chimney even more effective.

Reduce the heat produced in your home. Keep incandescent lights off until you need them. Avoid using heat-producing appliances like the oven or the clothes dryer, which add heat to the inside of your house. Instead, use a microwave or a barbecue, and hang-dry your clothes.

Drink lots of water.

Most importantly, change your mindset. Sure, the heat can be tough to bear in the summer, but guess what that's what happens in the summer. It's hot. Enjoy it while it lasts. If you have an air conditioner, use it sparingly, and unplug it as much as possible.

Comments? Questions? Feedback? Got an idea for a Daily Green Tip? Tip the tipper.