Heatwave: How to keep your home cool?

The easiest way to keep your home cool in the summer is to keep the heat out. To this end, the Ademe offers the practical guide Warm outside, cool inside which makes a number of useful recommendations.

Create shade: shutters, blinds, orientable sunshades, sun visors, screens, awnings

Protect the bay windows to the south and west. Opt for outdoor sun protection that protects you from heat better than a blind placed inside and opt for light colors that reflect light and heat.

Turn down the blinds as soon as the sun lights up the windows. Close the shutters during the day as soon as the sun hits the window or before going to work in the morning. Also close the windows as soon as the outside temperature exceeds that of your home.

Use plants: hedge, pergola, trellis, screen of climbing plants

Deciduous plants (which fall in autumn) provide useful shade in summer and do not mask the sun in winter. Moreover, the plants maintain, by evapo-perspiration, an atmosphere of freshness.

Enjoy the night to air

Open the windows at night and create air vents to remove the heat stored inside. If your accommodation is on several levels, open the windows upstairs to evacuate hot air (

Bring in and circulate outside air allows to cool the walls, ceilings, floors that will store the freshness to return it during the day. In addition, the moving air promotes evaporation of perspiration and provides a feeling of freshness.

Breathe the air

The fan is a useful solution to create air flows and improve comfort.

The portable brewer is effective only for the person who directs it to it. Favor the ceiling air mixer with cruise control that promotes slow and even air mixing. It is useless to let it work if there is no one in the room because it does not cool the air but brews it.

Avoid operating appliances that produce heat

Limit your oven usage. Do not leave the computer, video game consoles, etc. on unnecessarily.

Well insulate the accommodation

• Outdoor insulation, effective both in summer and winter;
• Distributed insulation, integrated into the wall itself, using particular building materials;
• Insulation of the roof, essential because after the openings, it is the roof that brings the most heat in summer.

When renovating the façade, remember to favor light colors for the paintings.

Settle air conditioning

If you still can't keep your home cool, you can settle reliable, low-energy air conditioning that's adapted to your needs. When choosing the energy label, use the energy label to identify the most appropriate equipment. Low-end equipment is often less efficient and uses a lot of energy.

You should know that air conditioning has a number of disadvantages:

• Operating air conditioning requires living with windows and doors closed;
• Some devices, especially individual ones, may be noisy for the user and/or for his neighbors;
• The costs of purchasing, installing and consuming electricity are not negligible;
• The widespread use of air conditioners increases overall energy consumption. In addition, their operation in the middle of summer corresponds to a time when electricity production capacities are reduced;
• Frequent passes from the inside to the outside can cause thermal shocks harmful to your health if the temperature difference is large. It is recommended that there be no more than 5 to 7^° C of the difference between inside and outside.

The Ademe takes stock of the different air conditioning systems to guide you in your choice.