How to cool your home and keep costs down

This summer has been brutal all over the northern hemisphere, and Japan hasn’t been spared. In the Kanto region, heatstroke cautions became a part of the daily routine in July. Overnight temperatures in my city in northern Chiba Prefecture rarely dip below 26 C, and I’ve been running the aircon more than I’m accustomed to. Back in January, I told you about how to heat your room without going broke. Well, here’s how I am staying chill and trying to keep my bills reasonable.

Aircon use

On social media and Reddit, you’ll see foreign residents asking how to use their aircon units frugally, and common questions come up. Which costs more, the dry function or the aircon function? Does it make sense to use the low-power function?

A column in The Mainichi reveals that many Japanese people, too, aren’t entirely sure about aircon power-saving and efficiency. The takeaway is that if you’re only going out for 30 minutes, leave it on, and use an air circulator or fan with the aircon unit. The rationales are in the article.

My aircon remote has a button labeled 省パワー sho pawaa, others may have エコ eco

Sudare and Awnings

To keep the cool air in and the hot air out, it’s best to close your curtains during the day. But your room may feel cave-like. That’s where 簀垂れ sudare, reed, or bamboo blinds, come in. They’re cheap and easy to lean up against windows or mount to window frames. They shield your room from the hot sun and let the breeze in. And they provide privacy during the day - you can see out but passersby can’t see in.

On the inside of my windows, I put up bamboo curtains, essentially sudare that are hung on a curtain rail. Like sheer ones, they diffuse the light and provide privacy, plus they lend a traditional atmosphere to my room.

Shady bamboo curtains instead of sheer curtains

Outside the window, the south-facing veranda gets extremely hot. A cheap solution is awnings and fittings I found at Daiso. Two big awnings, two sets of hooks with screw-on brackets, and some clip curtain hooks secure them.

Awnings, hooks, and clips all together cost me 800 yen

Uchimizu

Genkidesu observed the practice of 打ち水 uchimizu used to cool surfaces. I’ve gotten into the habit of collecting water from my washing machine. Dousing the veranda floor makes it cooler to the touch. The entrance to my apartment is in a narrow walkway between buildings, so gusts blowing over the wet brick surface really do feel cooler.

Have you got any tips for keeping your home cool?