Having a patio where you can enjoy during the summers is a blessing. Having a patio has multiple benefits, including having a low-maintenance space for hosting friends and family parties. It can also be used as an extension of your living room where your family can relax all year round. Patios can be used as storage spaces for your lawnmowers or bicycles.
While all these benefits cannot be undermined, it is also important to note that many people avoid using their patios during the summer due to the harsh sunlight and humidity. Many of us are guilty of hiding ourselves indoors with the air conditioners. We have listed below methods to keep your patio cool during the summers.
Add Some Shade
This is one of the most obvious options to keep your patio cool. By installing umbrellas, you can add shade to your patio and protect yourself from the harsh sun rays. This easy method has many options, including installing pergolas, umbrellas, screen houses, and gazebos, and all of them can be known to cool down your patio’s seating place.
If you are looking for an economical option, your best option would be to buy an umbrella. On the other hand, if you are willing to spend money and want a more stylish and elegant option, you must consider buying a Gazebo or Pergola.
To enhance the look of your pergola, you can also add artificial plants and flowers to it. The addition of curtains or fairy lights to your pergola would also beautify your patio. These umbrellas could be bought individually or as part of a table set.
When buying an umbrella, you must ensure that it is resistant to water, wind, and sun damage. A good UV rating is also an important factor when buying an umbrella from outdoor furniture shops. If you want to go for the cheapest option, you can also DIY your umbrellas. It would require a lot of time, and suitable materials, including fabric, metal/bamboo poles, wires, etc. A power drill and sewing machine would also be required to sew it all together.
Add a Misting System
Misting fans are another affordable and flexible option to keep your patio cool during the summers. Misting systems consist of large fans with small mist jets installed within them. These jets emanate water and air when turned on. The water dispersed by the jets then evaporates, leaving a cool environment that has a lower temperature.
A misting fan is adjustable, which means you can adjust the speed of your fan along with the place where you want the fan to lower the temperature. Misting fans require a water source, so it would be ideal for homeowners if they connect their misting fans to their garden hoses. Homeowners can also use a portable misting fan with a water tanker to keep the water usage in check.
Misting systems are fairly important since the fan does not help much on warm days, especially if you organize a party for your friends or family. While people say this misty goodness is only suitable for arid climates, we believe the residents of the eastern coast should also invest in a good misting system for their patios.
They can turn the mist jets off during high humidity seasons and benefit from the fan function only to keep their patios cool.
Install a pool
To keep your patio cool, one of the best options is to install a pool in your backyard. While this would also allow you to take a swim when the temperature is hot, it would also lower the surrounding temperature. Homeowners must consider the ideal size of the pool according to the design of their outdoor area and home in general.
Installing a pool will also provide homeowners with an entertaining accessory that can be used to relax or party with friends or family.
Add a Retractable Awning
A retractable awning is a perfect option for homeowners if they do not have a screened-in porch. Awnings are a handy option for people who live in areas with mixed weather conditions. These can provide protection from sun and rain on days when needed and not protect the rest of the days.
Retractable awnings can be largely classified into 2 categories: Articulated-arm Awning and Telescopic-armed awnings. While the one with articulated arms can be operated manually, the ones with telescopic arms need a small motor. The homeowners must decide the awning they want to install on their patios.
Add standard or High-Velocity Fans.
Harsh weather can surely ruin your outdoor experience. While portable coolers, air conditioners, and misting fans are known to lower the surrounding temperature, fans are known to fool your body into feeling cooler by providing a nice outflow of cool wind when connected to electricity.
The phenomenon that runs the fans is called the Wind Chill Effect. According to this phenomenon, the cool air touches your skin and speeds up the evaporation of your sweat from the skin surface, which in turn lowers your body’s temperature.
Update your Furniture
Extremely hot weather can also make the pavers of your patio hot. When walking on these pavers, your feet might get scaled. Homeowners should upgrade their furniture by adding outdoor rugs to their patios to prevent this. This would make your patio look like a real outdoor room and provide you with a cool surface to walk on. Adding light-colored furniture to your patio would help reflect light rather than absorb the sun’s harsh rays. This would help keep the temperature of your patio a bit cooler so that you can relax on your patio while moving around barefoot.
Adding light-colored cushions made of natural canvas fibers can also help reflect the sun’s rays if the seating of your patio is extremely hot. When buying fabric for the cushions, homeowners must not buy fabric or synthetics which have a plastic or water-repellant coating on them since that would aggravate the issue instead of solving it.
Making these updates to your patio furniture will make your patio cooler and give it a stylish look to your patio. When buying furniture for your patio, including rugs and cushions, homeowners must ensure they buy stuff that has been originally designed for the outdoor area.
Add Outdoor Blinds
The sun’s harsh rays can cause considerable damage to your skin and your expensive patio furniture. To eliminate this problem, outdoor blinds seem to be a reasonable solution. Outdoor blinds allow you to enjoy your outdoor plans without compromising them due to the harsh weather.
Most of us have seen outdoor blinds in restaurants and cafes and wondered if they can buy them for their homes. Outdoor blinds are now available for residential customers, making your patio the perfect place for outdoor hangouts with friends and family, no matter what the weather condition is.
Evaporative Coolers
Evaporative coolers, also called Swamp Coolers, are similar to misting fans. They are known to fight extremely elevated temperatures using the process of evaporation. While misting systems pressurize water to flow from the misting jets to the surrounding, evaporative coolers allow water to disperse passively. This helps in creating a refreshed environment. Cooling pads with large surface areas absorb water which increases the evaporation process.
In-built fans also ensure that the cool air is properly distributed. While evaporative coolers do need an electrical supply to operate, they are known to consume lesser electricity compared to traditional air conditioners. This is because evaporative coolers need electricity to run the fan, unlike traditional air conditioners that require constant electricity to run air through the condenser coils.
Add Shade Sails
Shade sails are huge pieces of cloth that homeowners can hang on top of their patio’s seating area. Usually, the ends of the cloth are connected to hooks secured with the posts or trees using ropes. Shade sails can be installed for permanent or temporary shade depending on the materials’ quality and the installation process.
It is extremely economical and is available in a range of sizes, shapes, colors, and fabrics to personalize your patio according to your choice.
A crucial decision when installing shade sails would be their positioning since the sun changes its position throughout the day. It is imperative to place shade sails at positions that block the sun throughout the day. The fabric must allow natural light to pass but should be strong and thick enough to block UV rays.
Plant Trees
While there are numerous artificial methods of keeping the temperature of your patio low, one natural method can be to plant trees. While planting trees is not an overnight process, and it might take time, they would provide oxygen and natural shade. Once planted, they do not require much maintenance. Trees with fruits and nuts are not preferred since they would attract birds, causing another unnecessary problem.
Spending time outdoors can often be an unpleasant experience due to the harsh weather conditions. To thoroughly enjoy your relaxing or party sessions, one must adopt at least one of the mentioned ideas to keep their patios cool during the summer.