Cool Quotient

With chiks,shades,drapes are dominant in all houses to beat the heat. “I close all south-west facing windows,so much so that they remain sealed for the entire summer months. I also install awnings on these windows to keep out the direct rays,” points out Supreet Nanda,a retail space and interior designer,who swears by water features to bring down the soaring temperatures. “Even a crystal bowl full of water does it well,which can be accentuated with rose petals that emanate a delegate fragrance to set the mood right,” Nanda feels that one can just unleash the creative energy by reorienting the household items for the purpose.

While use of light pastel shades is highly recommended,“sun-control or other reflective films also do well in summers,” tells Shweta Nagia,an interior designer,who recommends dimmers or use of compact fluorescent lamps over incandescent bulbs. “They produce the same light but use a fifth of the energy and give a lot less heat. Besides,in landscaping,avoid putting up lots of unshaded rock,cement,or asphalt as they reflect heat back on the house. Instead use outdoor and indoor fountains,” tips Nagia. But for those who reside on the top floor,there’s a bit of extra advice. “Paint your roof white. Particularly if you’ve got a flat roof,paint it with a specially formulated reflective paint as the reflective effect will help to keep the rooms under the flat roof much cooler,” advises Surbhi Goyal,an architecture student,who’s happy with the result at her Sector 15 accommodation.

After all this,if you still can’t be without your energy guzzlers,then here’s more. “Without blocking air flow,shade your outside compressor of the air-conditioner and change air filters frequently and it will become more effective,” chips in Ramaya Sahni. also an architecture student,who assures that little things can make summer afternoons cool. And it’s good for the planet too!