Beat The Heat: 10 Tips For Keeping Cool While Protecting Your Health And Budget

With energy costs rising and temperatures rising, staying cool in the summer is becoming increasingly costly for many Australians. Energy bills are projected to rise 50% over the next two years, adding to the cost-of-living crisis. For some, it's a tough choice between paying the bills or putting food on the table.

Many families will have to contend with high temperatures this summer and it gets hotter every year. Last summer, Onslow in Western Australia reached 50.7C, the hottest temperature on record in Australia. Climate change will see summer temperatures in Sydney and Melbourne reach 50C, research suggests.

Australians should take the risks of heating seriously and do what they can to keep their homes cool. As the World Health Organization points out, energy and health are inextricably linked.

Therefore, while energy policy often focuses on cost management and reducing energy consumption for the sake of climate protection, we must not forget the impact of heat on health and well-being. Fortunately, there are things Australians can do to keep their cool this summer as they manage their energy bills.

So how do you keep your vacation on a budget?

Based on our research and available evidence, our team has developed several resources, including newsletters, videos and brochures, on managing the use of energy for cooling.

A mix of different approaches can help strike a balance between convenience and low cost.

Here are our top 10 recommendations.

1. Insulate your home. Insulation is often the most practical and effective way to make a home more energy efficient. This is a barrier to summer heat gain (and winter heat loss). Sealing cracks around windows, doors, walls and floors can make all the difference.

2. Shade helps keep your home cool. External window protection can block 90% of unwanted heat. Adjustable awnings, shutters, and trees (preferably deciduous so they don't block the winter sun) and greenery around the windows can help block the summer sun.

3. Close windows, curtains and blinds during the day. Blocking out sunlight prevents heat from entering your home. Double-glazed or secondary thermal-break windows help, as do honeycomb/solar blinds and white-backed blackout curtains.

4. Open doors and windows when it's cooler outside. Opening the house at the right time helps cool it down as the building retains heat during hot weather. The hottest time of day is usually between 4 and 7 in the morning. So if you wake up early, this is a good time to open up and let in some fresh air. The cooler winds often strike in the late afternoon or early evening and present another good opportunity. to refresh your home.

5. Hydrates. Humidity is important for health and well-being, especially in the summer. Not drinking enough water can make you feel sick, including symptoms of fatigue and headaches. Women need about eight glasses or 2 liters and men need 10 glasses or 2.5 liters of fluid per day. Drinks with alcohol, caffeine, or sugar don't hydrate you much. water is best.

6. Wear suitable clothing. Natural materials like cotton and linen absorb sweat and allow air to circulate over your skin. It is much better than the synthetic one which can make you feel hot and uncomfortable.

7. Practicing self-cooling can help. Using a spray bottle or wet washcloth on your face and neck can help relieve the heat, as can a lukewarm bath or shower. If possible, get some rest during the hottest part of the day, usually between 11am and 4pm. Active physical activity during these hours on hot days can be harmful to health.

8. Visit trendy public places. When your home gets too hot, air-conditioned shelters offer shopping malls, libraries, galleries and restaurants.

9. Turn on the fans. Fans are an inexpensive and effective way to keep cool. The airflow provides such an improvement in comfort as a decrease in air temperature by about 3°C. Direct the airflow towards your face as the face has many receptors. If the outside temperature is cooler than your home, place the fan near an open window to let in fresh air.

10. Think twice before turning on air conditioners. An air conditioner typically consumes 10 times more energy than a fan. Try using a fan in conjunction with an air conditioner. This means that you can set the air conditioning to a higher temperature in the summer (add at least 3°C) and still benefit from it. The combined cost is much lower than using the air conditioner alone at lower temperatures. For effective air conditioning, the house or room must be closed and well insulated, and the windows must be protected from the sun.

Keeping calm can protect your health

When families don't cool their homes to save on energy costs, the consequences can be more serious than a minor inconvenience.

Our research has found that energy consumption is important for families to care for children, cook and eat well, and live comfortably in the family home. We also found that energy is important for older Australians to prevent illness and death, manage illness, maintain good mental health and maintain social connections. But our research shows that people are concerned about costs and need support using energy to maintain their health and well-being.

Exposure to heat can cause dehydration, heat stroke and stress. It can also make existing health problems, such as heart and lung disease, worse. As a result, heatwaves significantly increase hospital admissions and deaths, claiming 354 lives in Australia between 2000 and 2018.

Hot nights can also disrupt sleep and have a detrimental effect on mental health. So to protect your health, do what you can to stay cool this summer.

• Ross Gordon is Professor of Marketing at Queensland University of Technology. Gordon Waite is professor of geography at the University of Wollongong. Teresa Harada is a researcher at the Australian Center for Culture, Environment, Society and Space at the University of Wollongong.

• This article originally appeared in The Conversation

12 ways to beat the heat when you don't have air conditioning