5 Tips for Building a Cooler House, In Every Sense of the Word

In a hot and humid climate, most of the home’s electricity bill goes to cooling it down. But what if you could build a house that doesn’t heat up as easily?

Talk to your architect and interior designer about these cooling features.

Concrete, slate, and white metal roofs have higher heat reflective capabilities compared to the popular galvanised iron and asphalt. These more reflective materials may be more expensive, but they will say you Ringgits in the long run as you’ll find yourself turning up the air conditioner less often.

SOURCE: melbourneslateroofrepairs.com.au

If you don’t intend to re-tile your roof, then have it painted in a lighter colour. There are roof paints for most (if not all) roof materials; our advice is to have them professionally painted, since the work is trickier than painting the walls in your home.

SOURCE: Iproperty.com

Materials like bricks, clay, marble, plaster, and stone absorb heat well. If you don’t like how these walls look for the whole house, then dedicate these materials to areas that quickly warm up or areas you spend most of your time at: kitchen, living room, and bedroom.

SOURCE: Decoholic.org

Plaster walls are great because they’re cost-efficient and can be used for walls and creative ceiling designs!

SOURCE: cocokelley.com

Since a lot of heat comes through windows, orient them to the south instead of the east or west where you can get direct sunlight. If you can’t change the orientation of your windows, or just want to decrease heat entry then build window overhangs, external blinds, or external bamboo shades. External shades are more effective at keeping the heat out than internal ones.

SOURCE: renson-sunprotection.com

Reluctant to change your windows or window treatments? Then just use them more efficiently. Heat escapes faster through glass windows, so keep curtains of windows without direct sunlight entry open. Close the curtains of windows where you get direct sunlight to keep the heat away.

Similar to walls, materials like marble, stone, timber, slate, and concrete absorb heat. We’re fans of concrete flooring because they offer that rustic, industrial look. They’re also really easy to clean!

SOURCE: designcrushblog.com

Incandescent light bulbs emit a lot of heat. Opt for LED lights that produce less heat and use less energy.

We also recommend skylights and roof windows if you have a high ceiling. Those are good for letting the light in while saving you the heat from artificial lighting and exorbitant electricity bills! Talk to your interior designer about the best placement for such windows – find a trusted interior designer in Malaysia here.

Design by Surface R.

Cover image from kitakiichi.com.