Design: EJ Werkshop Interiors
When planning your renovation, here’s what you can take into consideration to maintain a cool environment in your home. This also helps you to minimise using air-conditioning, for a more green lifestyle.
1. Design your home with surfacing materials that are cool to the touch
Go for surfacing materials in light and pale shades, as they reflect light and therefore absorb less heat. Consider these stylish materials:
Dekton ultra-compact surface
Cosentino’s Dekton is a versatile and durable large-format material that can be used for worktops, flooring, and cladding for both interiors and exteriors. Comes in three different thicknesses to suit different application requirements, and in solid colours, natural-looking designs, textured and glossy surfaces.
Natural stone
Hafary offers numerous types of beautiful marble, apart from other stone surfaces. The thermal conductivity of marble is considerably high, and dissipates heat quickly to leave it feeling cold. Marble can be used for flooring, panels, columns, decorative features and more.
Porcelain tiles
Tiles are not only hardy, but these days you can get them in many different designs to suit all kinds of interiors. Rice offers quality tiles with interesting designs from Italy, including eco-friendly and antibacterial ones.
2. Install shade for al freso areas
It may be hot outside, but that doesn’t mean having to hide indoors with the air conditioning on all day. Since space is a premium, if you have a balcony or patio, make the most of it. Just install a trellis or pergola that provides shade from the sun, as well as rain. At Absolut Outdoors, you can choose from either composite wood, natural wood or galvanised steel for the structure, and polycarbonate and aluminum composite panels for the top. Maybe even add in creeping plants or other greenery to beautify it!
3. Keep your home well ventilated
A well designed space would have natural ventilation factored into its design. In order to have good air flow, you would need two opposite openings in a room to create an air tunnel. From your floor plan, you can work out how the air might flow through your home (take note that air does not cut across hard angles), so do not install partitions or other structures that would inhibit good circulation. While catering for this would have been at the renovation stage, what you can do at any point is to frequently air out your home by simply opening the windows and doors. Use fans, if needed, to help with pushing stagnant hot air and dust out, to allow fresh air in.
4. Decorate with plants and green wall systems
It has been proven that plants naturally aerate and cool our surroundings, apart from removing toxins from the air and being soothing sights. For statement-making feature walls, go to Greenology and Vertical Green for green walls. Green walls can dramatically reduce temperatures of a building by acting as an insulation layer on the wall surface, protecting from the heat of sun. Another benefit is that it abates sound.
5. Make use of home automation
With home automation (or smart home systems), you can prevent your interiors from heating up, even when you are not in. With the help of sensors installed that monitor the environment, have the curtains or blinds drawn automatically when there is strong sunlight, or the air conditioning turned on before you arrive home, for example. Systems from Asus, Somfy, Mation, Zipato, and more allow you to programme the various aspects of your home to keep it comfortable and energy-efficient, without any extra effort on your part.