6 ways to get cool without aircon

But when we put heat pumps in cooling mode in summer, we’re asking a lot more of them. That’s because, rather than just trying to notch up the temperature a degree or two, in some parts of the country you might be trying to drop it from something like 29°C to 21°C. The temptation can also be to leave it on all day and night, which you’ll definitely notice on your power bill.

Of course, a lot of us also don’t have the luxury of reaching for a remote when the mercury rises. So here are 6 things you can do instead to try and get your home feeling more comfortable.

1. Embrace plug-in fans

James Le Page is our head of testing at Consumer NZ. He says people are often surprised to find out fans don’t use a lot of power. “They have small motors, so even if you run a common 60W pedestal fan for 8 hours a day, it’ll only cost you $4 in power that month,” James says. But he also says fans are only effective if they’re pointing right at you as they don’t actually cool the air. “So, if you’re sitting at a desk or watching the cricket on TV, don’t be afraid to put a fan beside you. Just don’t expect one fan to cool the whole house.”

2. Point your fan outside at night

This might seem like a crazy idea but, if your bedroom has got too hot to sleep in at night, you could try pointing a fan out the window. “The idea is to push the hot air from your room, leaving space to draw in the cooler night air from outside,” James says.

3. Get clever with cross breezes

If a breeze is blowing outside, open windows on opposite sides of the house and open internal doors between them to create a cross breeze. “It will flush all that warm, sticky air from the house. And even if it just drops the temperature by half a degree, that will actually make a big difference to how you feel,” James says.

4. Close the curtains

If you know it’s going to be a hot day, skip opening the curtains or blinds in the morning – especially if they’re on west-facing windows as this is where the hot afternoon sun will hit.

5. Put a film on windows

Closing the curtains isn’t the perfect solution as the sun will still come through the windows and heat the curtains, which will then radiate it into the room. What’s more effective is a film applied to windows where the sun beats in too much. A film’s solar heat gain efficient (SHGC) tells you how much solar radiation will pass through it – so 0.8 means 80% will pass through. Look for the film with the lowest SHGC. The downside to films is they can distort the colours you see outside, making things look darker than they are.

6. Don’t run appliances during the day

If it’s a hot day, try to prepare meals that don’t require the oven or cooktop and hold off turning on the dishwasher until later in the evening. These appliances will heat up your kitchen. If you want to cook, you won’t heat the kitchen as much if you use an air fryer.

If all that faffing around with fans and cross breezes has you longing for a new heat pump on the wall by next summer, Consumer members can check out which ones are the best using our test results.

Want to find the best heat pump?

Consumer members can compare 282 heat pumps to make sure they’re getting the best one for their budget.

Our heat pump comparison lets you see:

• the most and least reliable brands
• the most satisfied customers brands
• the most efficient heat pumps
• the noisiness of a heat pump’s indoor and outdoor units
• how well a heat pump will operate at low temperatures.

Become a member now to get access to our heat pump comparison and all our buying advice. We have different membership options, starting at $15 per month.