By: Viraj Shah
When the weather’s scorching and your bedroom’s grim, you can do a few things to keep cool. Fans are wonderful for active cooling while in bed, and you can also make your bedroom a few Celsius cooler.
Here’s how to cool down your bedroom this summer:
External Window Film for Sun-Facing Windows
If your windows receive sunlight during the day, external window film—of the solar reflective type—will make your bedroom significantly cooler.
External window films stop the sun’s heat from entering your bedroom before it hits the glass, unlike internal films, which allow the air gap in double glazing to heat up – the result is a window that acts like a radiator.
Though expensive (around £600 for professional installation of a neutral film on 6 panes of glass), the results are worth it.
Air Conditioning
Sorry to point out the obvious. If you want to seriously drop the temperature in your bedroom, you can’t beat air conditioning.
You can install it in two ways:
- Split air conditioners that are hardwired to your house for unbeatable cooling power and the capability to cool one, two, or three rooms with one external unit.
- Portable air conditioners that you wheel out in hot weather and vent out of your window with a sealing kit (not elegant, but very effective).
You’re looking at £2,000 plus for split air conditioning and less than £500 for a decent portable A/C unit with around 12,000 BTUs.
Split air con is significantly better but requires professional installation and maintenance (servicing) to keep it running at its finest.
Fans
Air conditioning is expensive, but fans aren’t.
A simple pedestal or tower fan can transform your bedroom from a sweaty mess to a cool haven. You can run it on low close to your bed to keep the noise down or crank it right up and stick it in the corner of your bedroom.
To lower the temperature of your bedroom with a fan, here’s a neat trick:
- Open your window and place your powerful fan facing out. Turn it on, open your bedroom door, and the fan will pull cool air from the rest of your house and expel warm air from your bedroom (this only cools down your bedroom if the rest of your house is at a lower temperature).
Don’t want an enormous fan? Get a desk-size one for your bedside table or one of those tiny clip-on ones for your headboard.
Blackout Blinds and Curtains
Whether you choose external window film or not, blackout blinds and curtains do an excellent job of stopping the sun from superheating your bedroom.
Blinds and curtains with white backing are effective because white is the highly reflective color.
Be Clever With Your Window Opening Times
The biggest mistake you can make is opening your windows during the day when the temperatures outside are highest.
You want to keep them closed during the day and open them at night so that cooler air flows into your bedroom.
This works when the temperature drops at night, but if it doesn’t, keep your windows closed and use a fan to create a breeze.
Look For Opportunities to Insulate
Is there an attic space above your bedroom? If so, it’s worth checking the thickness of the insulation to ensure heat doesn’t seep down below.
If the rest of your house is warmer than your bedroom, and that’s contributing to an uncomfortable sleeping situation, upgrade your door to a solid-core one and seal it with insulation tape (foam or felt) to keep the heat out.
Published by: Martin De Juan
