The Ultimate Guide To Cooling Your Yurt

If you are planning to start living in a yurt, you may be asking yourself; do yurts have air conditioning? 

Do Yurts Have AC?

Yurts don’t come with an air conditioning system. But you can install one yourself to help cool the yurt. You can install either a portable air conditioning unit or a window air conditioning unit. Regardless of the type you choose, ensure it’s energy-efficient and appropriately sized.

Yurts are renowned for their outstanding self-cooling capabilities, especially considering they’re just big tents. And this can be attributed to their dome construction and shape. Their round design is less exposed to the sun, which keeps them in the shade and keeps their interior cooler compared to rectangular-shaped structures. Also, their round design encourages air circulation inside, again helping with cooling. 

But, if you live in an area that experiences hot summers, the self-cooling capabilities of a yurt may not be enough to keep its interior comfortable. Hence, you will need an additional mechanism like an air conditioning system to keep the yurt cooler. And this begs the question, do yurts have air conditioning?

Well, we’ve scoured the internet and interacted with veterans in this field. So, if you’ve been wondering whether yurts have air conditioning, then you’ve come to the right place.

Do yurts come with air conditioning?

Yurts don’t come with air conditioning. But thanks to their design, you can easily add or install an air conditioning system to your yurt. 

So, if you live in an area that experiences hot weather throughout the year or the summers are extremely hot, then you already know that air conditioning is a norm. Fortunately, you can also install one in your yurt.

How to Add an Air Conditioning System to a Yurt

As we mentioned above, if you live in an area that experiences desert temperatures or the summers are extremely hot, you will need to find a means of keeping your yurt cool and comfortable.

The good news is that an air conditioning system can solve this problem.

And as much as yurts don’t come with air conditioning systems, you can simply install one. When it comes to choosing an air conditioning unit for your yurt, you can either opt for a free-standing or a mounted one.

The free-standing unit is also portable, meaning you can move it from one area of the yurt to the other. Also, free-standing units are cheaper. However, they tend to be noisier, compared to the mounted units.

If I were to choose between a free-standing unit and a mounted one, I would go for the free-standing unit. It’s portable, meaning you can move it around as much as you want and set it up anywhere in your yurt.

Furthermore, a portable AC doesn’t require any installation expertise. You just need to create a hole in the yurt’s wall and fit the hose. From there, you simply need to connect it to a power source and you are good to go.

But, if you don’t have any plans of moving your yurt to another location any time soon, then you should simply go for a window air conditioner. A window air conditioner is more powerful than a portable air conditioner, meaning it will cool your yurt better. Furthermore, window air conditioners are quieter than portable ACs.

Another benefit of a window air conditioner is that it won’t consume any of your yurt’s floor space. So, if you have space limitations in your yurt, then it will be highly advisable to go for a window AC. But, its installation requires an expert.

Whether to install a portable air conditioning unit or a window AC will depend on your needs, preferences and space availability.

Other Ways to Cool Your Yurt

Without a doubt, installing an air conditioning unit will go a long way in helping to keep your yurt cool. Also, there are some extra steps you can take to help cool your yurt even further and make it more comfortable. They include:

Using Reflective Insulation

As its name suggests, reflective insulation works by reflecting heat to its source. When properly done, this method can reflect 90% or even more radiant heat.

Therefore, it provides a cost-effective and environmentally friendly means of cooling your yurt, regardless of whether you are living in it year-round or you are using it part-time.

Installing Window Awnings

According to the U.S Department of Energy, installing window awnings can help to minimize heat absorption by approximately 77% on west-facing windows as well as 65% on south-facing windows.

If you decide to install window awnings, make sure you choose ones that are light in color. Light-colored window awnings will reflect the most sunlight, thus helping to keep your yurt cooler during summer.

Installing Ceiling Fans

Ceiling fans provide yet another cost-effective means of cooling your yurt. Besides helping to cool your yurt, a ceiling fan will also circulate air around, thus helping to spread a comfortable drat all through your yurt. Ceiling fans are easy to install. And, you don’t need any complicated tools.

But, according to the experts that we’ve interacted with, you should only install a ceiling fan in a yurt with at least eight feet of height. So, if your yurt has a lower height than eight feet, then installing a ceiling fan is out of the question.

Installing Operable Skylights

An operable skylight is also another option to explore when it comes to cooling a yurt. When open, the skylight will allow fresh air to move and circulate inside the yurt, thus making it cooler and comfier.

Key Takeaways

• Cooling your yurt is important during the summer to ensure maximum comfort
• Yurts don’t come with air conditioning systems
• You can install an air conditioning unit in a yurt
• You can opt to install either a portable AC or window AC