How to keep our Homes Cool

[Julie-Ann]

What can we do to reduce the heat in our homes during summer?

Summer is here, in some states it seems to have started with a real bang. I am looking for ideas on how we can keep our homes cool without cranking up the air conditioner.
When we built our home we put no windows or doors on the west side which has helped. The room in our house that gets the hottest is the room where we don't have eaves over the windows. I went for the cute bay window with the decorative corbels instead of the practicality of eaves.

What have you done in your home to keep it cool in the summer?

[Freogirl]

We live in S.W. Victoria and seem to have skipped Spring completely, only 3 wks ago we had the fire going in the house and now the air con going madly! We have ceiling fans in every bedroom and the 2 living areas and although they don't always look fantastic, they are great with the heat.The kids keep these on all night if hot , they are quiet and perhaps safer than small desk fans. Other than these the same old thing of closing curtains, windows etc do help, we then open them at night to let in any breeze.

[Julie-Ann]

You could also use awnings of the sun shield fabric on windows that get a lot of sun. We did this in our meals area that faces east. We couldn't open the blinds until 11am before- now we never close them.

I also read how adding a pergola or deciduous trees near your home can help to keep the home cool in summer. We planted a claret ash tree to block the western sun, its 2mt tall now & doing the trick.