Tin foil on the windows....helping in a heat wave or warding off aliens!

We are currently experiencing a heat wave with temperatures in the mid 30's and it's expected to be even hotter today.  I don't know about you but I don't do well in the heat and some of my children do even worse.  For my seizure challenged children the extreme heat has been triggering more seizures so we are trying everything to keep them cool.  This means that they aren't able to play outside past 10:00 am and we are trying to keep them happy inside a darkened house that seems similar to a cave.  We do not have central air conditioning, we do have a couple portable air conditioners for their rooms and multiple fans.

6 Ways to keep your home cooler in a heat wave

Close your windows!  If it is hotter outside or expected to get hotter close up your windows before the sun hits your house.  This will keep the cool air in and the hot air out.  In the evening when the temperature cools open the windows to cool your home off.

Close your curtains, drapes or blinds to provide another barrier blocking the hot sun.  We also put aluminum foil on all our southern exposed windows to reflect the hot sun away.  This does make it look like we are trying to ward off aliens and does make it dark inside but works better than the curtains alone.  After hanging the foil, my very smart adult son, told me emergency blankets work the same but you can see through them from the inside.

Close doors/vents to rooms that you won't be in so you can focus on keeping cool the necessary living space.  If you have a portable air conditioner they can be used more effectively in a smaller location.

Turn on your furnace fan, most furnaces have a summer/winter switch for recirculating the air in summer months without heat.  This is a good way to circulate the cool air from the basement throughout the house.

If you have ceiling fans ensure that the fan is blowing downwards in the summer to cool you (upwards in the winter to circulate warm air).  Fans do not cool the air but they do cause a breeze making you feel cooler and aid in recirculating the air from cooler parts of your home.  Portable fans are good for blowing on you creating a breeze and when the temperature outside is cooler for drawing the cool air in.  You can put a block of ice in front of your fan creating a cooler breeze but you need to be careful not to raise the humidity in the room to much as it can make you feel warmer.

Turn off any unnecessary lights and use stove/oven, dishwasher, washing machine and dryer in the evening when cooler - all these appliances generate more heat so avoid use if you are able too.