How to cool your home without relying on air conditioning

As soon as the sun rises, window shades should come down. Window glass is “one of the weakest links” in a building’s defense against solar radiation, Rempel said, because it readily transmits heat. The best way to prevent this is to install exterior window coverings, like shutters or retractable awnings. If those aren’t an option, inside curtains or blinds are a good alternative. You can even cover a piece of cardboard in aluminum foil and press it into the window frame.

Having vegetation around your building can prevent the walls from heating up as well. Trees not only provide shade, they can bring down the surrounding air temperature through a process called evaporative cooling. As leaves release water into the air, energy is used to turn the liquid into vapor — which means it doesn’t go into heating up the environment. The same phenomenon explains why sweating helps cool you off.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2021/07/23/passive-cooling-heat-wave/