10 Low-Cost Ways to Cool a Home

No matter what the date is on the calendar, it's always hot in some region of the world. And with hot weather, there are always people seeking ways to stay cool. With that in mind, here is a list of ten different methods for keeping your home cool, although some are admittedly more practical than others:

1. Ice: Ice, ice baby. Putting a bowl or tray of ice in front of a box fan will help spread cool through a room as the ice evaporates, creating a light, refrigerated feel in a room. This cooling method works best in a dry climate.

2. Window coating: Retrofitting an entire house with 10 or 20 vinyl frame windows with dual-pane glass can dramatically cut noise and power expenses and make a house far more temperate. That said, installing these windows can easily run upwards of $10,000 and trying to shirk on expenses by going with some fly-by-night brand or contractor can be risky. Sometimes, it makes more sense to start by simply coating existing windows with a treatment to make them more energy efficient and light resistant.

3. Awnings or shutters: The same principle holds true here as with the window coatings. Interior or exteriors shutters as well as awnings can offer some of the same benefits as sophisticated windows, at a fraction of the cost. As a plus, they can also add beauty to a home.

4. Plug-in fans: Here's one of the oldest cooling methods on this list. It's existed as long as it has because plug-in fans use a fraction of the electricity as air-conditioners and can be strategically positioned; meaning energy needn't be wasted cooling parts of a house not in use.

5. Shades: Imagine the dead of July, 100-degree days seemingly lasting an ete
ity. At times like these, people have two choices when they leave for work in the morning. They can leave the house be with the knowledge they may come home to a sweat lodge. Or they can close their shades, leave a fan running and return in the evening to a house a solid 30 degrees cooler than the heat still outside.

6. Ceiling fans: Kids ceiling fans may seem useless to anyone over the age of seven. But even princess ceiling fans with the frilliest of damsels painted on them can make a house cooler, using minimal energy in the process.

7. Swamp coolers: This sounds like something from the bayou. It's actually a slang term for a whole house cooler, something that's particularly useful for getting heat out of attics where it often gets trapped. Swamp coolers run a few hundred bucks if they're self-installed and work ideally in non-humid environments.

8. Taking showers instead of baths: Baths require several gallons of water, and if they are to be hot, one's hot water heater will go through quite a workout, particularly during the summer. Taking a short, quick shower can dramatically lessen the energy load.

9. Light-colored walls: It's common knowledge that wearing black on a hot day isn't a good idea, since the color is more likely to retain heat. Who'd have thought the same thing would go for houses? It's true. Lightly colored walls can make a house cooler than dark ones.

10. Light shingles on new roofs: Same idea as with the walls.