Ecological ways to keep your abodes cool this summer

By Hemil Parikh, Founder, Elysium Abodes LLP   As temperatures rise the warmth of summer can be a drag if your house is airless and humid, most of us can't survive the hot and humid months without an air conditioner. In fact, there are lots of ideas to cool your house without the utility bill going up. Therefore, it’s time to look for alternative methods to stay cool in summer, both for our own bodies and for the environment. With environmental amiability in mind, the following are the tips that will help you to keep your house cool during the hot summers.   Bring in nature indoors: There is nothing like a fresh blow of green to breathe life into an interior. Bring nature into your homes by tactical placing planters, creepers, and ferns that will help in reducing heat and can effectually serve in cooling a house. Indeed, planting creepers and plants beside staircase balustrades or gallery grills can serve in maintaining the shaded space underneath them as much as twenty degrees cooler as compared to the surroundings. Even mounting perpendicular gardens inside houses benefit in maintaining the home temperatures.   Window Boxes Gardening: The green window boxes add instant edge appeal, lightening up the surface of your home with blooms and greenery. Window boxes are commonly grown by citizens who don’t have access to a garden or a roof to grow plants. Additionally, the cheerful colours and unique ideas also lend your windows an attractive edge. One can also consider coating the external walls of their homes with mud which also act as an outstanding insulator against the heat.   Breathable curtains: Undesired heat enters the house through windows and investing in shades, curtains can help reduce indoor temperature vastly. Close your blinds from late morning to early evening and spend in breathable curtains like cotton, sheers, jute screens or bamboo shades. It is recommended not to use dark synthetic drapes in summer. Perhaps, choose white or tone colours that are made of light and airy material. Jute screens and bamboo shades curtains or layering can also maintain a cool temperature. Curtains made of Burlap fabrics are an excellent option during this season as the open weave of the fabric facilitates the room to breathe while sieving in light blissfully.   Terrace or rooftop garden: For people residing on higher floors of the building, the blazing sun has a major possibility to heat the roof and seep into your home. However, if you consider setting your roof with an assortment of plants, the mud in the vessels will absorb the heat from the sun and will in-turn act as a heat-proofing insulator, these low-maintenance plants grow quickly and can absorb heat. They cool the entire house in the process. Rooftop gardens are astonishingly effective insulation systems and can help to lower the cost of cooling a home. You can also grow adequate amount of plants on your balcony which will help to avert the heat before it enters your homes. If you desire to naturally preserve the walls then plants are particularly excellent and the necessary method to cool the residential spaces.   Opt for white walls: White colour reflects light and contributes to creating a lively and pleasing atmosphere. It can also provide a freshening effect, and unlike darker shades, it prevents from absorbing heat rays. Painting ceilings and walls white during the summer season will help you generate cold environment in your houses.   In conclusion, maintaining your home cool during summer does not mean that you have to give-up your sustainable endeavors. There are multiple ways by which you can condense your home's interior temperature without the electric bills shooting up. By using eco-logical techniques to keep your houses fresh, you can create and uphold a refreshing atmosphere that is pleasing to live in, while at the same time is respectful to the planet.