You moved down to the Southern Mediterranean to take advantage of the hot weather that runs almost year-round. It’s a wonderful thing to be able to swim in the sea while your friends and family back home are starting to layer up on their clothing.
But, at the same time, the heat can be too much. And then the cost to cool your home can add a lot to the expense. If you live in an older home, then this can be a particular challenge. Newer homes, like new property developments in Marbella, are designed and built to be energy efficient. If you find yourself in an older home then you need to be more proactive in keeping the place cool.
In this article, I will go over several ways to keep your home cool naturally so turning on the air conditioner can be a last resort.
1 – Keep the blinds closed
This is such a simple suggestion that can easily be overlooked. But, when the sun is shining at its brightest in the morning and your home faces South, then shutting the blinds while leaving the windows open goes a long way to keeping things cool.
Hopefully, you have an old house with thick stone or brick walls that are slow to heat up on the outside from the sun. With the shade in the house, it will stay cool and comfortable for most of the day.
At first you may miss the sunlight streaming into your home, but when things heat up, you will be glad to have it cool anyway.
2 – Cook outside
One of the perks about living in Southern Spain is the availability of the local produce and seafood. And there is no better way to cook it than to throw it on the grill. This is also the best way to keep your home cool. Cooking outside means less heat in the house, and also less mess to clean up.
You can set up a small outdoor kitchen that includes the grill, storage space and even a small fridge to keep your food chilled while you do your prep.
Alternatively, you can also cook ahead and then reheat food when you are ready to eat. It heats up the house, but only one time leaving it cool the rest of the week if you plan things well.
3 – Use plants
Plants are natural air conditioners. They draw in the hot air and then release cooler air so the more you have the cooler the interior of your home will be.
This also counts for outside if you want to keep cool on your balcony or your garden. Look for small trees in particular that have a lot of leaves. A fern isn’t going to do much, but a few small ficus trees or something similar can help keep things cool.
4 – Dehumidify
It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity. That tired old trope has a lot of truth to it so the less moisture in the air in your home the better. You can use one of the dehumidifier machines to pull out the moisture, or some of the passive types that use a media that attracts moisture and keeps it cool that way.
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