Six Tips to Keep Your Home and Apartments Cool During Kolkata’s Summer

Home is the best place to protect ourselves from the scorching summer heat but nowadays when the rate of pollution is jumping day by day causing an increase in the greenhouse effect and deforestation adding more to our woos even "our sweet home" feels like a "blast furnace". The question arises what to do to keep our apartments and homes and of course ourselves cool during this horrendous summer months that too in Kolkata, one of the hottest and humid city in India or may be in the whole world?

The answer is simple "Turn on your Air conditioner or Air Cooler and enjoy the cool and chilled breeze. But, is it so simple? No, it is not because we need to think about our elevated electric bills and also about the harmful emissions of greenhouse gases by A.C. So what can we do to keep our Home and apartments cool?

Some smart hacks can help us to preserve our environment from the harmful effects of the greenhouse gases as well as slashing our electric bills and moreover making our home and apartments a cool and serene place to live even during the sweltering summer heat.

First and foremost thing that is needed is to "plant trees" to get rid of the scorching summer heat. Many people reside in apartments nowadays and for them the best way is "window planters" which will help the hot air flowing in the room to get cool. Also, if anyone is considering buying an apartment in Kolkata it would be better if they look for a property outside the main city especially around the E.M Bypass and Narendrapur Area where the pollution is comparatively low.

Summer is the time when we can think of investing on curtains, blinds etc. The heat rays enter our house and apartments through our windows. We should keep in mind the curtains or blinds should be of "breathable material" like cotton. Close the curtains and blinds from late morning to evening to lower indoor temperatures.

Summer is also the best time to opt for a seasonal upgrade. Kolkata is basically a summer city and the winter season doesn't last long so coloring the walls of our house or apartment with white or pastel hues like sky blue, aqua, light yellow will not be a bad idea because light colors reflect heat and light instead of absorbing it which helps in keeping the interior cool.

Opening of windows during the right time is also necessary to allow air circulation. The best time to make most of the cool breeze enter is during early morning and again during nights. The air is pleasantly cool during these times which will keep our indoors cool and fresh. The cool breeze blowing during the night would help us to sleep peacefully.

Turning off lights especially high power bulbs when not in use because they radiate a lot of heat. This will not only consume power and money but will also help us to keep our indoors cool. Cooler light emitting diodes (LED) or CFL lights would be a great idea during the summer.

And last but not the least well servicing of the ceiling fans, table fans, Air conditioners before the dawn of the summer season is needed so that they can function properly during the summer. We also need to use it efficiently. We should only use it when it is needed with perfect temperature settings and also we should always turn off the" auto mode" of the A.C This will not only save power and money but will also help in keeping the environment clean by emitting less harmful gases.

These are some of the ways by which we can try to beat the Kolkata Summer and protect our Home Apartments and of course ourselves from its scorching heat. Please feel free to share your thoughts opinions and queries regarding the discussion in the comment section below.

Tanusree is a professional writer working in the real estate field for a long time. She has written many informative articles and blogs on "Real Estate". She has a large reader base that regularly follows her works.