13 Ways To Cool Your House During A Blackout

Finding ways to cool your house during a hot day or night during a blackout can get really inconvenient, most especially if you're unprepared. If you had the means to get the heat out, you would surely not think twice about doing so!

Ways to Cool Your House Without Electricity

What if the blackout was caused by a natural or man-made disaster such as an earthquake, flood, forest fire, or other situation like a downed electric pole?

While the power is out, there must be other ways to cool your house and keep the temperature down so you can just feel a bit more comfortable. Let me help you out with these few ways to keep your house cool during these trying times.

1. Refrain from Cooking Indoors

Assuming you’re using liquefied petroleum gas, avoid cooking inside your home. Instead, cook outside or better yet, have food delivered to your home if that's possible.

The heat from cooking will circulate in your home which definitely won’t be helpful at all.

2. Leave Your Doors and Windows Open

Open all your windows and your doors to allow the breeze to cool your home. By opening both ends of your home, the breeze will push the hot air out from one end to the other. Leaving the windows open at night will also help cool down your home the following morning.

3. Dampen Your Curtains

This is a method that will allow the wind to cool down the air inside your home as it passes through the damp curtains. You will have to follow up on the mopping, but it does achieve its purpose.

4. Prevent Direct Sunlight from Pouring into Your Home

Using drapes or window coverings such as light-colored curtains on windows or doors where the sunlight directly pours in at certain parts of the day can help keep the temperature down. Remember, the less sunlight that passes through the windows, the better.

5. Vent out the Attic

If a blackout happens regularly or if it will last long due to a downed power line, you would probably consider placing vents on eavesdrops or on the roof.

Oftentimes, hot air is trapped in the space between the ceiling and the roof. This will, in turn, generate heat that will pass through the ceiling into your home.

6. Close the Doors of Unused Rooms

If there are rooms in your home that are not being used during the hottest part of the day, you can opt to close the doors. This way the cool air won’t be distributed in the areas where you don’t need it.

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7. Use Light-Colored Cotton Sheets

We all know that cotton sheets are way cooler than fleece and flannel ones, so cotton is the way to go. You can also cover your furniture and use cotton pillowcases.

Just in case you might be wondering, dark colors absorb more heat so try to stay out of thick and dark fabrics during this time.

8. Plant Trees

This is obviously for long-term solutions. Planting trees outside your home, especially in parts where direct sunlight pours in, will help shield your home from the sun's hot rays. Moreover, trees create shade around the house, which makes the house cooler during those really hot days.

9. DIY Plastic Bottle Air Cooler

Using 1 liter or 1.5-liter plastic bottles, cut into half with using the part with the bottleneck. Drill holes large enough for the bottleneck end to fit onto a board the size of your window. Place each bottle side by side with the cut end facing outward until it covers the whole board and then fit it into the window. The hot air passes through the bottleneck, compresses the air, and cools it in the process.

10. Paint Your Roof

You can coat your roofing with cool-colored paint, so it will reflect most of the heat coming from direct sunlight. The sunlight bouncing off will also help cut down your air-conditioning bills in the long run.

11. Install Solar Panels

Other than helping you cut down on your electric bill, this will probably provide you with enough power that will last for a certain period of time. In the absence of electricity, you can still use an electric fan or air conditioning unit.

It may initially cost you quite a sum of money to have it installed, but the savings and convenience are worth it.

12. Buy a Generator

With today's’ technology, small generator sets are readily available at your local hardware store. This is another effective temporary energy source that will keep the heat at bay until the electricity comes back again.

13. Alternative Energy Sources

You can have a wind turbine installed to convert wind energy into mechanical energy using a ceiling fan. Or probably convert it into electrical energy using a converter that will power a small fan.

Here's a video by Anon Z on passive home cooling methods during power outages:

There are other short and long-term ways to cool your house, but you must remember that you must also focus on your body more than anything else. Staying hydrated, taking a quick shower, or going for a swim will help you cool down. Now if the situation permits, you may consider going out, watching a movie or staying in the mall until the electricity is back.

Do you have other ways to cool your house during a blackout? Please share them in the comments section below.

Up Next: 17 Ways to Keep Your House Cool During The Summer

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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on November 17, 2017, and has been updated for quality and relevancy.