Summer is in full power here in Kerala, India. Concrete radiating heat and rooms are hot even at night. Have seen people mention things like blackout curtains, reflective or white paint on the roof etc. Have upped hydration and am now sleeping with windows open, with a mat on the floor. What all things do the people in your locality do? Or if you have any specific insight into cost-effective techniques or so, could you kindly share them? Thanks in advance

This isn’t going to be an option very often, but when the conditions are just right I like to leave windows open overnight to cool down the house. If it’s going to be below 60°F and above 80°F the next day, it works best for me. Keep an eye on the dew point though because too much humidity isn’t great. I like to open windows on one side of the house then open another in the other side with a powerful pedestal fan sitting about 4 feet away. That seems to work best for moving air through the house and usually lets me get away without running the AC the next day. Also, Vornado makes a transom window that fits snuggly in the window case, that’s a great balance between blocking out a bit more noise because the window isn’t wide open, it’s a noise machine, and a huge benefit is it’s reversible. Good luck!