Are Yurts Good For Hot Weather? [4 Tips To Stay Cool!]
If you have just purchased a yurt after spending years living in a conventional home, you might be thinking, “are yurts good for hot weather?” As nomads who’ve made their fair share of rounds around the country, we will discuss why yurts are good for hot weather and to cool your yurt when it gets too hot in this article.
Are Yurts Good for Hot Weather?
The good news is that yurts are good for hot weather. They are more environmentally friendly and sustainable than many housing options. Since yurts have a circular dome shape, they can cool down easily. Cooling off is important for those living in areas where the temperature rises significantly.
The structure of the yurts allows you to get sufficient levels of ventilation. If you are looking for a sustainable lifestyle, you should think about living in a yurt. The key thing is to keep it well-insulated.
Do Yurts Retain Heat?
Depending on the structure of the yurt, it may or may not retain heat.
If you live in a traditional yurt, you will find yourself sweating initially. This is because old, traditional yurts do not use fans and refrigerators and do not have a sufficient amount of ventilation.
People who live in these yurts enjoy nature the best way they can. These yurts retain heat.
However, a large chunk of the population moves to yurts to feel closer to each other. These people opt for modern yurts that come with electricity to keep themselves cool or warm depending on the weather.
Modern yurts also make use of insulation, which allows heat to be lost. The insulation does not allow the yurt to retain heat, keeping it cool even during the hottest summer days.
Are Yurts Good for the Desert?
You will have to take precautions, but you can live in a yurt in a desert.
According to a 2001 article found on SFGate.com, there are loads of California counties, such as Mendocino and Napa, as well as cities like Eureka and Los Gatos that allow people to live in yurts even though they have desert-like conditions.
If you are setting up a yurt in a desert, you must ensure that there are many windows in your yurt. Depending on the size of the yurt, professionals should be able to tell you how many you would ideally need.
We would recommend having a window on all the four walls of the yurt to ensure proper airflow.
- Keep the windows open with a net screen so that you are not bothered by bugs.
- If you are worried about privacy, you can install some curtains.
- Vent the dome so that hot air in your yurt can easily escape. Remember the basic rules of physics- hot air rises while cold air sinks.
- A battery-powered, circular hole can be dug at the bottom of the yurt to help hot air generated underneath the floor to escape. This will help keep the floors of the yurt cool.
Can You Put an Air Conditioner in a Yurt?
You can definitely put an air conditioner in a yurt to stay cool during the hot summers or in hot climates. The air conditioner will help keep the structure and atmosphere inside the yurt comfortable and cool. However, make sure that you choose an air conditioner that is energy efficient.
Moreover, it should be appropriately sized so that it reduces energy consumption.
The best part about choosing an energy-efficient unit is that you can save a large amount of money on the cost of electricity. When making this decision, consulting an HVAC advisor will help as the professional can ensure that the air conditioner operates at its full efficiency.
Can You Keep a Yurt Up All Year?
If you plan on living in your yurt throughout the year, you can definitely let it stay up for 12 months.
However, if you do not plan on living in it for some parts of the year, you must ensure that it does not get wet in the winter and monsoon season. The yurt must be visited regularly, and a stove should be used inside to heat it when it is cold outside.
If a yurt is left unoccupied in the winters, it may start to become damp, and if it does not dry soon, mold could form on the canvas and frame.
However, if you want to actively live in a yurt all year round, you can definitely do that without any issue. All you have to do is plan some things in advance.
If you have a permanent yurt, this makes things easier as you can prepare for the summer beforehand. You can choose a yurt in a location covered with trees to provide an ample amount of shade.
Keep in mind that when living in a yurt, you are preparing for summer as well as winter days. In the summers, you need shade, while in the winters; you need some sunlight to keep yourself warm.
Since yurts have a circular dome shape, they are great for natural ventilation.
If you are looking to cut down on expenses and live a simpler life, you will find that the trees in the surrounding area will keep you sufficiently cool as the dome ensures air circulation in and out of the yurt.
To keep a yurt up all year, this is what you will need to do:
- Insulate
If you want to keep cool in the summers, you need the right insulation for your yurt. Cotton, polyester batting, and vinyl liners are great insulation materials used in combination with felt, fabrics, and insulation liners.
To ensure that heat does not get transferred, you can add reflective insulation to the roof and walls of the yurt. Keep in mind that fiberglass and polyester do not reflect heat well, so they will not be able to keep your yurt cool for long.
EPS insulation, Rockwool, and OSB can be used for the yurt platform to ensure that hot air does not enter. It is important to choose the right kind of insulation as this is what will keep your yurt livable even when it gets extremely hot.
- Install a Ceiling Fan
When the temperature outside is rising, a ceiling fan can help cool the temperature inside the yurt. It will help circulate air indoors while ensuring that the temperature inside the yurt does not rise too much.
You can find a wide variety of ceiling fans in different colors and styles. If you are looking for an inexpensive way to cool down in the hot summer, these fans are the perfect investment.
- Install Vents
If you want your yurt to be comfortable and cool, ventilation is a top priority. You can achieve good ventilation through the walls, platform, or roof of the yurt.
Ventilation will help keep the yurt cool in hot summers. It will allow good circulation of air indoors and will also remove moisture in the yurt, reducing humidity and keeping the yurt dry.
Since yurts have cone-shaped designs and open platform vents, creating good ventilation should not be too big of a problem.
You can use the Venturi effect to achieve your goal- this is a natural way of ventilation that happens when wind enters the yurt through a narrow opening at the top.
It causes the air pressure to decrease as the airspeed instead, cooling the air inside the yurt and causing the hot air to escape.
Make sure to adopt natural methods to keep the yurt cool every day by opening up windows during the night and closing them during the day.
Usually, the nights are cool, and the days are hot. This method will ensure that your yurt is kept naturally cool without raising your electricity bills.
- Get a Swamp Cooler
A swamp cooler is an efficient way to keep the yurt cool while lowering humidity levels.
Swamp coolers work by making use of evaporative cooling so that the warm air cools down and blows inside due to forced convection.
This method can ensure that the yurt is kept cool, even during extreme desert summers when going outside makes you sweat almost instantly.
