3. GET THE AIR MOVING
Moving air, even a little, makes a big difference. Install a ceiling fan or use a portable fan to increase air circulation and to cool your room down in a low-energy way. Opening windows for cross-ventilation is effective as well, but try to avoid doing so during the peak of a heat day. If you live in a dry climate evaporative coolers can use 1/5 the energy of a typical AC — there are even ones like the Coolarado that don’t introduce moisture into the house.
4. USE COOL NIGHTS TO CREATE COOL DAYS
Many regions can be hot in the day, but cool at night. An effective way to keep out the heat in these climates is to do a night air flush. A well-sealed and insulated whole house fan is a great tool to complete this process. The fan draws in the cool evening atmosphere through open windows and flushes out the day’s hot stuffy air. Close the windows in the middle of the day and a house can stay surprisingly comfortable
Keep sun off south/west facing patios and walls by installing a shade sail or growing a vine over a pergola. This prevents the heat building up in hard landscaping and walls, which keep the house warm into the night, and also heats the air that comes into the hosue at night when you open the windows. Grow plants like vines to shade your windows, add conservatory blinds inside your windows. Choose windows that open on the side. If they only tilt, then all you get is hot air rising up from the patio.