Summers at my end can get real harsh. Despite running coolers for 24/7, one still may not be able to keep The House cool. It is wastage of energy plus water. Instead what we do is use the Khus/vetiver on the windows to keep the incoming aur cool. The wet Khus absorbs the heat from the hot air and transmits it indoor as a cool air. Thus cooling the whole house. This saves a lot on electricity which is also a problem during Summer.
The Summer is not that harsh here. But as there's an upswing in global temperature, so even the cooler places are no longer as before. As you have mentioned, Khus is indeed a pocket friendly way of keeping the room temperature low. In my previous location, we used to hang them in the balconies to prevent sunlight pass through. Along with wetting the khus, we used to wet the floors as well. And now it sounds something funny, but I used to do the laundry at night and hang all the wet cloths inside the room. The heat needed to dry the cloths, used to keep the room cool during night.
The summer heat here is punishing and we try to invent ways to cool our house especially during noon time. We have the welcome plants in pots which can deaden the heat. When sprayed with water, the room temperature goes down a bit. We place 4 pots of welcome plants in the living room. With tge help of electric fans, our living room becomes bearable.
The heat is harsh here during summer but we don't have a cooler so it can get pretty intense in the house. What I do to keep it cool is open up all the windows and keep the fans on all day long. I even keep the back door open to let some air in. I don't really know what other methods to use with what I already have so that's how we survive.
Similar development at my end too, the summer is quite hot such that the fans become useless. It's only the air conditioners that help in getting the rooms cool at day time and night. One thing I believe would be helpful to keep the environment in check in extreme summers is to have trees planted in our compounds.
