Ten ways to beat the heat

‘In the summertime and the weather is fine’. Isn’t that a lovely song? But for the people in the Bay Area, that may not be the best song for the summer. As temperatures rise, so do tempers. Here are some cool ways to beat the heat.

1. Get dark colored heavy curtains for your rooms for the summer. Leave the windows open during the night and pull the drapes as it gets warm during the day. This helps to keep out the heat and keep the room cool.
2. Turn off all the heat inducing equipment in the house when not in use like the oven, computer, heater etc. This will bring down the temperatures inside the house.
3. Don’t switch on all the lights in the house. Electric bulbs make the room warmer. Use bulbs sparingly. Consider investing in a daylighting system. This brings in natural light from outside which is cooler than electric bulbs and healthier too. The amount of sunlight in a daylighting system can be adjusted using a dimmer. As an added bonus, you are also being eco friendly and saving money.
4. Place a shallow bowl filled with ice in front of your fan to increase windchill, if your fan isn’t making the room cool enough.
5. Drink lots of water. In the summer, your body gets dehydrated and drinking water cools the body down (The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention makes no recommendation as to the temperature fluids to consume in a heat wave other than to “avoid very cold drinks” as these can cause stomach cramps. It also recommends avoiding caffeine, alcohol, and drinks with large amounts of sugar as these can “actually cause you to lose more body fluid”.)
6. Keep a spray bottle filled with water in the fridge and occasionally spray yourself with chilled water. Spray the pulse points of your body like the head, neck, wrists, back of knees etc. If you add a piece of cucumber or twist of lemon it adds to the spritz. This is a great way to keep your body temperatures down and keep you cool
7. Have cold food. Frozen yogurt, fruits, smoothies are all great to indulge in during the summer. Try to reduce cooking in the kitchen. Have cereals for breakfast, cold cuts and sandwiches for lunch and light sandwiches for dinner. Try to avoid hot and spicy food as it increases your body temperature. Eat light during the summer.
8. Go out! This is the best time to get out in your car and go for a long drive. The air conditioning in the car is much more effective and cheaper than using the air conditioner at home. You can make it even cheaper, by just rolling the windows down if there is a nice breeze blowing.
9. An even cheaper option is to take some sort of public transport and hit the mall. Air conditioning for free and you can have fun in spite of the sun.
10. If it’s a really hot one, wet sheets and drape them on the curtain rail. The breeze blowing through the wet sheet will make the air blowing in, cooler.

Another great way to keep yourself cool is to get a solar attic fan. It ventilates the house, pushing out the hot air and letting in cool air. Solatube has a very nice solar attic fan which you can get from their local Bay Area Solatube dealer, Sunlight Concepts. 

Check it out at http://www.sunlightconcepts.com/content/show/7044. You can call them at (408) 844-0081 to make an appointment and go see this amazing product for yourself.