How to Cool Down a Room

Close Curtains/Blinds. Around 30% of unwanted heat comes from windows. Cover the windows to block direct sunlight and prevent the room from heating up. If your room doesn’t already have blinds or curtains, consider getting some, especially for west-facing windows. By covering the windows, the temperature in your room can drop significantly.

• Try to keep the windows covered from morning until evening on the hottest days.
• If you often deal with high temperatures, consider purchasing thermal-insulated curtains that block out light.

Turn off unnecessary lights, electrical appliances, and heat-generating devices. Any device in use contributes to raising the room's temperature, so it's important to turn off everything you're not using. Computers and televisions generate a lot of heat, and incandescent light bulbs are also significant heat sources. If possible, you should turn off all lights in the room.

• It's not always possible to turn off all the lights, but at least keep them at the lowest setting possible.
• Consider replacing incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent lights (CFLs), or even better, light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs. CFLs and LEDs produce much less heat and are more environmentally friendly.

Clean up any clutter. Piles of clothes and other clutter can absorb and trap heat in the room. The less stuff in the room, the more space there is for heat to dissipate and cool down more quickly. High piles of clutter also obstruct air circulation, making the room feel warmer. Put all clothes in the closet and close the door.

• Quickly scan the room for any mess and clean it up if possible.

Open the windows in the room and close the doors to other rooms in the house. If the house is hotter than the outdoors, it might be because the walls have absorbed a lot of heat from the sun throughout the day. You can push the warm air out of the room by opening the windows. You should also close any unused rooms in the house to cool the room you're in more efficiently.

• Remember to close the window once the room has cooled down a bit.

Turn on the ceiling fan and adjust its settings. Ceiling fans are very effective at helping air circulate in the room and creating a breeze. The fan will also push the air upwards, and since hot air rises, your room will cool down more quickly. If the ceiling fan is off, go ahead and turn it on. If it's running slowly, increase the speed to the highest setting.

• Check if the fan blades are rotating counterclockwise (when viewed from below) – if not, you'll need to adjust it.
• Setting the fan blades to rotate counterclockwise and turning the fan to the highest setting will improve air circulation.

Turn on all the fans you have. Desk fans, box fans, oscillating fans, and wall-mounted fans all help circulate air in the room and create a cool breeze effect. A rotating fan placed on a table will quickly and effectively disperse the stagnant hot air. It's a good idea to have multiple fans in the room throughout the summer so you can turn them on as soon as you enter.

• Turn on the exhaust fan in the bathroom. Exhaust fans also help expel hot air, similar to the steam when you take a hot shower.

Place a tray of ice in front of the fan. Transform your fan into an "air conditioner" by setting a tray, bowl, or pan of ice in front of it. This will create a cool, misty airflow in the room very quickly. You can also use ice packs, or if you don't have ice, improvise with something equally cold, like frozen vegetable bags.

• Angle the bowl of ice slightly if it seems like the fan's airflow isn't passing over the ice bowl.

Place a box fan in an open window and face it outward. The fan will draw hot air out and bring in cool air from outside. Position the fan in the window with the most shade – this will allow you to get the coolest air possible. Close all nearby windows tightly and open a few windows on the opposite side to create cross-ventilation and cool the house faster.

Install a window air conditioner or portable air conditioner. One of the most effective ways to cool down a room quickly is by installing a window air conditioner. This type of unit cools the air in a single room. A central air system, on the other hand, cools the entire house, which takes more time. Installing a window air conditioner is also relatively easy, especially with a sliding window.

• If you don’t want to install an air conditioner or your window isn’t suitable, consider purchasing a portable air conditioner. This unit doesn’t require installation – just plug it in and turn it on.

Open the windows at night. Nighttime temperatures usually drop, even during the summer. Take advantage of the cooler air by cracking open a window or two before going to sleep. Position one or two fans opposite the windows to create a cool cross breeze. Close the windows tightly in the morning to keep the hot outdoor air from entering the house, and remember to pull the curtains over the windows.

• You should also unplug all electronic devices in the room overnight to further reduce the temperature.

Consider purchasing a dehumidifier if you live in a humid climate. Humidity can make the air feel even more suffocating. If you live in a high-humidity area, you should get a dehumidifier. This device pulls the humid air from the room and passes it through a special coil before expelling the drier air outside. You can buy a dehumidifier at most electronics stores.

• Dehumidifiers are not cheap, but since they are portable, you can move them from room to room to maximize their efficiency.
• For best results, place the dehumidifier in the center of the room you're trying to cool.

Choose the right curtains. If you use curtains, opt for neutral colors with white plastic on the back to block heat more effectively. Hang them as close to the window as possible. Blinds are also very effective in insulating – make sure they are mounted tightly to the window glass to create a sealed space that prevents heat transfer. Consider purchasing double-sided blinds, one side light-colored and the other dark.

• In summer, you can install the light-colored side facing outward to reflect sunlight; in winter, reverse it to absorb heat.