How to make homes cooler without cranking up the air conditioning

Air conditioners often become the default solution when temperatures rise but they’re not the only answer

Keeping cool heatwave
During uncomfortably hot weather, people seek ways to cool down their homes
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Jesus Lizana, Marie-Curie research fellow in the Department of Engineering Science, Nicole Miranda, senior researcher and college lecturer in Engineering, and Radhika Khosla associate professor, Smith School of Enterprise and Environment at the University of Oxford explain the easy ways to keep cool as the mercury rises.

Temperatures around the world are soaring. Both California’s Death Valley and China’s Xinjiang region have seen temperatures climb above the 50℃ mark. A blistering heatwave is also sweeping across the Mediterranean, causing temperatures in parts of Italy, Spain, France and Greece to exceed 40℃.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up