Summertime Nostalgia for Sustainable Living

Old-fashioned solutions can combat the heat without increasing your carbon footprint.

Picture a hot summer day 100 years ago and you’ll likely conjure an image of people lounging on a deeply shaded porch sipping icy lemonade while a ceiling fan gently whirls overhead. In these hotter-than-ever 21^st century summers, some of the techniques that helped people beat the heat in the past can be incorporated into your summer days and nights, too.

Besides cooling you off, these tips can lower your carbon footprint and utility bills. And, just maybe, help you recapture that sense of a lazy season that is so often lost in the modern year-round temperature-controlled world.

12 Nostalgic Tips for a Sustainable Summer

If you want to pretend you live in another era or just prefer to seek out less energy-intensive practices, try these methods from the past to stay cool:

1. Use your window treatments strategically. Your blinds, shutters and curtains aren’t there just to look good – they serve a purpose, too. Yet 75% of residential window coverings remain in the same position every day, according to a study by the U.S. Department of Energy. Close your shades, especially if you have neutral-colored shades with a white backing, as soon as the sun comes up and you can reduce your heat gain by as much as 33%, according to the DOE. When the sun goes down, especially if you live somewhere that cools at night, open them to let more air circulate. For a modern update, invest in motorized, automated blinds that can be programmed to manage solar impact.
   
   
2. Try wet sheets and similar tricks. In pre-air conditioning days, people sometimes hung a wet sheet in front of an open window – especially on a breezy day – to cool the air flowing indoors. This works better at night, particularly if the outdoor temperature falls a few degrees. Some people swear by sleeping in slightly damp sheets, too, as a way to stay cool overnight. Other options to cool off more quickly: place your feet in a bowl of ice water or freeze wet washcloths to press to your wrists and temples.
   
   
3. Open your windows – sometimes. In the past, opening the windows on a summer’s day meant you could bring in fresh air and the scent of freshly cut grass or wildflowers outside the window. Today, it’s important to check the outdoor air quality and humidity levels before opening a window. Still, if the temperature dips overnight or there’s a cooling breeze, it pays to let stale air out and let the summertime scents in.
   
   
4. Create your own shade. Sweet impressionist paintings often feature smiling women in long dresses with a parasol overhead or a wide-brimmed hat. While a lacy parasol suggests a more dramatic nod to nostalgia, a regular umbrella can be even better to create a moving pool of shade. A hat or visor can provide a smaller but similar function to shade your face and neck.
   
   
5. Seek out shade. Lingering on a private porch or under a tree in a park are classic time-tested ways to enjoy summer. Create additional shade in your backyard or on a deck with a sunshade or umbrella or invest in a trellis and fast-growing plants. But with more intense heat and humidity, you may want to skip the nostalgia and go straight to indoor options to escape the sun, such as a library, museum, movie theater or shopping mall.
   
   
6. Find water. Starting in the early 1900s, more American households began to take vacations by lakes and beaches. As they gained more leisure time and, eventually, cars, trips to locations with places to swim and sit by the water became more common. Even dipping your toes into a stream, pond or nearby lake can replicate a bit of that vacation feeling without needing to make a carbon-intensive trip. Don’t forget to sip on plenty of cold drinks, including water, to stay hydrated and lower your body temperature.
   
   
7. Generate a breeze with electric or paper fans. Waving a paper fan in front of your face won’t do much on a 100° day, but it can help momentarily transport you to the past and cool you off a little. Strategically placing electric fans to circulate the air throughout your house, along with ceiling fans set to rotate counterclockwise to create a downdraft, can lower the temperature in your house and reduce your air conditioning use. For a bigger impact, place a bowl of ice in front of a fan to create a cool breeze.
   
   
8. Choose your clothes carefully. When you see images of summer scenes from earlier centuries, you’ll notice that nearly everyone wears loose fitting clothes in white or light colors. Lighter colors reflect heat rather than absorb it. Cotton and linen and other breathable fabrics work better than heavy materials, or you can choose synthetic fabrics with moisture-wicking properties.
   
   
9. Prep no-cook meals with local produce. Even if you’ve invested in energy efficient appliances, you may want to give them a rest in hot weather. Hot ovens and stoves contribute to the warmth in your home, so it’s smart to plan meals that don’t require long cooking times. The best place to start is with plenty of fruits and vegetables from your local farmer's market. Another option: join a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) co-op to get deliveries of locally sourced produce. Find one in your area through the USDA site.
   
   
10. Take advantage of your attic. Open your attic windows and your first-floor windows, especially at night. The warm air from the first level will rise and be pushed out the attic windows to cool your whole house, according to Cornell University researchers.
    
    
11. Skip hot appliances. Nothing says an old-fashioned summer day quite like seeing freshly washed sheets and clothes fluttering in a soft breeze. Your clothes dryer generates a lot of heat, so skip using it and opt for air drying instead. Similarly, you can pretend you live in the days when all dishes had to be handwashed. Use cool water for everything but the greasiest dishes and avoid the heat gain from the drying function on your dishwasher.
    
    
12. Install awnings. Before air conditioning was invented, far more homes were built with awnings over the windows to prevent solar heat gain. While it’s a bigger investment than sticking your toes in a bowl of ice water, you’ll find long lasting benefits from installing awnings on your west and south-facing windows, especially in light colors that reflect the sun away from your house. Awnings can reduce solar heat gain by up to 65% on south-facing windows, and 77% on west-facing windows, according to the DOE.

While few people want to return to a past without the medical advancements and technology we have today, taking a cue from earlier times can lead to a quieter, cooler summer.

Publisher’s Note: This content is made possible by our Today’s Homeowner Campaign Sponsors: Whirlpool Corporation. Whirlpool Corporation takes sustainability seriously, in both their products and their operations. Learn more about building and buying homes that are more affordable and less resource intensive.