People living in Singapore know that an air conditioner is an inevitable appliance to keep the home or office cool in this tropical country’s hot and humid environment. But sometimes it becomes necessary to live without air conditioning for various reasons like unaffordable power bills, improper working of the air conditioner, or any other similar reason. In such conditions, you must know how to keep the room cool so that you can live comfortably, at least until an alternative arrangement.
Some tips are provided here to help you in such a situation.
Table of Contents
1. Lessen the heat inside the room
Every home has some resources and appliances that heat up the environment of the room. First of all you will have to control all such points.
– You can keep the windows of your room covered or closed in the morning before the day starts getting heated and do not open them until the outdoor air gets cool, to let cool air in.
– Turn off the lights that emit lots of heat, if not necessarily needed.
– Change the highly glowing bulbs with CFLs or LEDs
– If not required, plug off the electronic appliances that generate heat while running on electricity
– Avoid cooking inside the home or opt for pre-cooked foods that do not need warming while using
– Ironing and laundry should not be done inside the room when the day is hot as it can increase its temperature.
2. Make it difficult for outdoor heat to come in
You can make it possible by upgrading the energy efficiency of your home. Though you will have to spend some money for this purpose certain utility companies and local governments also offer some rebates discounts under scheme welfare schemes to the people opting for it. These steps can be helpful in reducing your power bills even if you install an air conditioner in the future.
– You can not only easily increase your comfort level but also reduce your power bill round the year by strengthening the insulation of your attic to keep room cool.
– Seal the leaks in your windows and doors as well as between the attic and living space so that hot air could not come in from outdoor and cool indoor air may not go out. You can also use foam gaskets to cover the outlets for this purpose.
– Insulate and seal all the seams of the ducts by wrapping them or using good quality sealant to prevent the leakage of indoor cold air into the crawl space or attic.
– An old refrigerator is also a good source of heating your indoor. You can also replace it with latest energy efficient models to keep room cool.
– You can also install solar screen or solar-control film on your windows to reduce the effect of solar heat during the day in Singapore.
– You can paint the exterior of your home with light color shades as they will reflect solar heat and keep your home cool.
3. Cool your home naturally
Some tricks of Mother Nature can also help you to keep room cool in a natural manner.
– You can have natural cooling effect in your room if you open up your windows to let outdoor air come in as outdoor air always remains cooler than indoor air.
– Maximise the ventilation of your room by opening its higher and lower windows as it will allow the outdoor air circulate in your room in a cyclical manner, which will cool your indoor temperature.
– You can also reduce your indoor temperature by shading your home smartly. You can shade your home by using trees, shrubs and vines on its outdoor along the porch roofs and awnings to give it a landscaping look.
– You can also use shade-casting items to block most of the solar heat to heat the walls and windows of your home.
4. Use fans
If natural air is not enough to keep room cool then you can use fans to keep yourself cool. No doubt they will consume electricity but it will be much less than an air conditioner. While using fan for this purpose you should keep in mind that instead of cooling your room fan will cool only the people in the room by evaporating their sweat.
– Your fan will throw air on your skin, which will carry away your body’s heat and make you feel cool by evaporating your sweat. So you will have to set up fan in the direction where people are sitting and turn it off immediately when not in use.
– Moreover you can use a fan according to your space and utility as various types of fans are available in the market. A ceiling fan will be the best option if you need air in the entire room but if you want to carry your fan wherever you go then floor or table fan will be the best choice for you.
– You can also use window fans to suck indoor hot air and throw away outdoors
– You can also install a whole-house fan in the attic to use in the early morning or after sunset to suck cool air through windows and throw out hot air forcefully through vents in the attic.
5. Instead of house focus on your body temperature
If it is difficult for you to keep your room cool even by using any of the above-discussed methods, then you should focus on cooling your body temperature.
You can apply cold cloth on your wrists and neck as they are pulsed solid areas in your body and sip ice cold drinks to cool yourself inside out. Avoiding embracing your partner and choosing your clothing smartly are other ways to keep yourself cool in Singapore.
6. Make your bed heat-proof
If you have failed to keep your room cool without air conditioner, then you can try making your bed heatproof. You can use Chillow under your head and for feet you can fill a hot water bottle and put it in the freezer to cool it considerably.
While going to bed, you can put this chilled bottle at your feet. You can also dampen your bed sheet before sleeping to help you calm down while sleeping.
