It is no secret that people prefer stone houses because of their looks. The stonework of the walls looks stunning. But they are a chore to keep cool as they heat up quickly in the summer.
There are a lot of ways to keep a stone house cool. Some of these ways include keeping the windows closed during the day and installing blinds. You can also dehumidify the house, circulate air by using fans, and turn-off lights and appliances.
That said, there are intricate details to the above-mentioned cooling ideas. Read on to find out what they are and how you can benefit from them.
Cover the Exterior of Windows With Blinds
People, mostly, place blinds and curtains on the inside of the windows. Granted, it looks good, but it isn’t efficient. When curtains/blinds are on the inside, they don’t do anything to block out the heat. They only block the light, which does nothing to combat the heating issue. Therefore, you need to place blinds on the outside of the windows.
Additionally, make sure that the blinds you choose to block out the sun completely. The Achim Home Furnishings Mini Blind does that quite well. 
Insulate the Walls
Stone is an excellent conductor. It transfers whatever heat it receives. As a result, the interior of your house heats up.
Here is what happens:
Stones have a large thermal mass. Therefore, they take a while to heat up.
In places with harsh summers, there isn’t an extreme difference between day and night temperatures. And because the nighttime temperature isn’t low enough, the stone walls retain heat. So, in such climates, the thickness of the stone wall doesn’t matter.
What does matter, however, is whether the walls are insulated?
Insulated walls are excellent at blocking out heat. The layer of insulation ensures that the stones don’t conduct any heat from the outside. Consequently, the interior of your house remains cool. That said, there are two ways you can insulate the walls effectively:
- By applying a layer of insulation to the outside. But doing this covers up the beautiful masonry that stone houses are known for.
- By keeping an insulator between the walls. It is less effective, but it works well while retaining the beautiful stonework.
No matter how you approach insulation, it is a great way to keep your stone house cool.
Close the Windows During the Day
You may think that opening windows during the day helps with managing heat. But in fact, it makes matters worse.
During hot summer days, the outside air is way hotter than the inside air. If you open windows thinking that the temperature inside the house would drop, then you need to think again. As soon as you let the outside air in, it will heat the inside air. In the end, you will be left with a hotter interior than before.
So, don’t open the windows of your house during the day. Keep them closed until the sun goes down. After sunset, when the nice evening breeze kicks in, open all the doors and windows.
Place a Bucket of Ice In Front of a Fan
You can think of this as DIY (Do It Yourself) air-conditioning. All you need is a fan and a bucket full of ice.
Here’s how you can cool your stone house using ice:
- Fill a bucket with ice.
- Place the bucket in front of a fan.
- Angle the fan to project air forward and upward.
- Refill the bucket when it runs out of ice.
The chilly air created by the ice will help tremendously in lowering the temperature of the room.
Ensure the Circulation of Air
One of the easiest ways to cool your house is to ensure ample circulation of air. All you need are a few good fans.
First up, keep your windows closed during the day and use ceiling fans to circulate air inside the room you are in. The indoor air is cooler during the hot summer days. So, a ceiling fan comes in handy as it circulates this cool air.
Secondly, when the sun goes down, open all the doors and windows. Don’t forget to open the top windows as hot air rises. After that, place a fan facing inside before a door or a window. The fan will pull cool evening air in. Convection currents will then push the hot air out.
Finally, here is a simple rule to remember:
When the air inside is hotter than outside, push it out.
Turn-off Appliances and Lights
As mentioned before, stone houses retain a lot of heat. That means the more heat the stone walls absorb, the hotter your house will be. Therefore, reduce heat generation as much as possible.
You can reduce heat generation by:
- Turning off appliances like refrigerators.
- Turning off incandescent lights.
Additionally, you can also make your house less hot by not cooking during the day.
Dehumidify Your House
Sometimes the weather outside is not hot, and yet your house feels like an oven. If you are experiencing a similar thing, then you can blame the humidity.
When the amount of water vapor in the air is high enough, the sweat on our body evaporates slowly. This raises our body temperature. Thus, we feel like the temperature of our house is more than it is.
That said, this problem is quite simple to manage.
Consider purchasing a dehumidifier like hOmeLabs 4500 Sq. ft dehumidifier. A dehumidifier eliminates moisture from the air and makes it dry and cool.
However, if you can’t purchase a dehumidifier, then you can reduce humidity by:
- Not showering in the middle of the day.
- Keeping cooking to a minimum.
- Staying away from washing and drying.
In short, dehumidifying is a good way to make your house feel cooler.
Whitewash Your Roof
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) oversaw a project in Gujarat, India, that was aimed at reducing the interior temperature of buildings by whitewashing the roofs. The council found that, after the whitewash, buildings were 2°C (3.6°F) to 5°C (9°F) cooler than before.
Therefore, you can also whitewash the roof of your house to get a cooler interior. Furthermore, you can combine whitewashing with a reflective coating. Doing this has the potential for an even bigger temperature difference.
Double Glaze or Reglaze
When it comes to cooling a stone house, people overlook the condition of the windows. Windows that have cracks, holes in the frame, or are old, need reglazing. Glazing a window improves its insulating qualities.
So, reglazing not only saves your window from wear and tear, but it also helps with heat management.
Conclusion
Stone houses are hard to keep cool. However, there are things that you can do to solve this problem.
- First, close the windows during the day and open them up at night. Doing so will block out the heat when the sun is up and bring in cool air after sunset.
- Secondly, ensure that the walls of your house are insulated. Insulated walls are excellent at keeping the heat out. Plus, these walls also keep the interior temperature stable.
- Next, paint the roof of your house white. White paint reflects sunlight, which reduces the temperature of the building.
- Furthermore, use a dehumidifier to reduce humidity. Humidity raises our body temperature, which makes us feel hotter than the climate is.
- Finally, keep your house well ventilated. Circulation of air has a cooling effect because it evaporates sweat from our bodies.
Follow these tips, and you’ll never have to worry about summers again.