As the heat waves keep coming this summer across the US, it pays to be on your guard. Drink lots of water, avoid peak sun hours -- and make sure your home stays cool. That's especially important if you're protecting kits, pets or older relatives when temperatures suddenly spike.

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I and other CNET experts have spent years testing the best-performing home cooling tech, smart thermostats and energy-saving tips for times just like these. Here are my top steps and tech that can keep your home cool without blowing up your energy bills.

10 Home Cooling Hacks to Get You Through Heat Waves

1. Use a portable air conditioner and monitor room temperature carefully

Whole-house air conditioners remain very important in heat waves, especially when combined with other cooling methods. But not all homes have whole-house AC, and in severe heat waves, they may not be enough. Another option is a smart portable air conditioner that you can plug in and move from room to room, depending on where you're spending time.

Take a look at our list of the top portable air conditioners. You'll find models with remotes, voice assistant support, timers, dehumidifier functions and much more. Expect to spend around $400 for a good model that you can use for summers to come.

Important note: Once temperatures start rising well above 90 degrees Fahrenheit, basic ceiling fans don't really make a difference, especially when addressing health issues. It's important to focus more on home insulation and air conditioning.

In many homes, some rooms can get much hotter than others, which doesn't help central thermostats do their job. Consider home monitoring devices that can sense temperature, like these all-in-one Arlo security sensors we tested. That way, you can constantly monitor the temperature in a particular spot (sitting room, bedroom, baby's room, etc.) and take action if it gets too high.

2. Set a strict curtain schedule for your windows

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Sunlight streaming through your windows can heat up objects and air inside your home, making a heat wave worse. Close your blinds completely during the hottest temperatures for better protection. You can also search for smart blinds and curtain retrofits to let you set automatic schedules to make this process easier.

Once the outside temperature drops significantly below indoor temps, your insulation starts working against you. So, if your region experiences cooler nights, wait for the temperature difference and open windows around your home to create cool air flow.

3. Replace your HVAC filter and order an inspection

To prepare for a heat wave, you'll want to replace your home HVAC filter, which is typically located right at the fan system that pushes air around your house. It's a good idea to keep several properly sized filters nearby so you can switch them out a couple of times a year, or when you really need efficient airflow.

If you have time, you should also schedule a maintenance visit from a professional HVAC contractor. Among other things, they can test the refrigerant levels in your AC system. Refrigerant can leak out over time and make your air conditioning less efficient. Making sure you have the proper levels is important ahead of a hot period.

4. Install leak detectors and monitor for leaks

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Home leaks are often associated with freezing temperatures when pipes crack in the dead of winter. But heat waves can cause an opposite, yet similar, problem: Pipes can expand and damage their valves and other components, which also leads to leaks. Also, AC units can go into overdrive and may leak more than usual in your basement or garage.

Most home security systems, like Abode, offer leak detector add-ons that you can place in susceptible areas to get alerts or alarms when water on the floor is detected. You can also find standalone units from Eufy and other brands.

5. Keep your outdoor home devices out of direct sunlight

Shade is your friend when placing outdoor electrics like home security cameras or outside sensors -- even robot lawnmowers. High temps can wreak havoc on batteries, make sensitive electronics overheat and may even cause plastics to melt.

So when the temperature starts shooting up, bring your electronics inside or into the shade until the hot spell is over. And please watch where you install your home cameras.

6. Check and replace your weather stripping

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Weather stripping refers to those small strips of felt and rubber at the edges of windows and doors. They play a vital role in home insulation: When they wear down or get ripped off, the gaps notoriously cause drafts. That's unpleasant in wintertime, but during a heat wave it can sap all the cool air that your AC has created, keeping your home from cooling down fully and increasing the risk of heat-related health problems.

Prep for heat waves by checking weatherstripping and blocking any drafts from worn materials. You can find weather stripping yourself for a DIY project, but it's important to get the right kind to match your doors and windows.

7. Find cooler alternatives for cooking

Cooking and baking produce a lot of heat in the kitchen, so you may want to reduce those activities during a heat wave. That's why we have an entire guide on how to keep your kitchen cool when temperatures rise, including prepping meals beforehand or cooking late in the evening. Also, this may be a great time to check out meal delivery services.

8. Search for electronics to unplug and stop using

Steps You Can Take Right Now to Avoid an Overheated Phone

We're barely into summer and already the US has seen a devastating heat dome pushing temperatures to uncomfortable heights. And if you're hot, know that your phone is even hotter, which can make it turn off abruptly or potentially damage the battery.But there's no need to get hot and bothered, especially when you know these easy ways to keep your iPhone or Android phone from overheating.See also: What else can you do to keep cool? Here are more practical tips for your phone, plus ways to stay cool indoors.

Manufacturers like to boast about how bright their phone screens can get, allowing you to see your display clearly even in direct sunlight. Pushing the intensity of those pixels to 1,000 or 2,000 nits of peak brightness is great for reading what's on the screen, but sustaining that level uses more power and generates more heat than when you're inside or in the shade.Plus, direct sunlight delivers radiant heat to items like metal and glass, increasing the temperature of your device. If you need to use your phone for an extended period of time during sunny, hot days, find some shade to protect both it and you.

If you don't want to expose the phone to the sun, what about keeping it in a car while you're frolicking on the beach? Setting aside the risk of having it nabbed in a break-in, cars turn into hotboxes on sunny days, which can easily push past the recommended operating temperatures. It's better to take the phone with you.Which reminds me: I know you'd never leave a pet in a hot car, but they can get overheated elsewhere. Here's how to take care of your vulnerable furry friends.

It's normal for a phone to heat up while it's charging -- the phone's surface dissipates that heat away from the inside by design. But if you're using a bulky case, the heat could get trapped. If the phone seems to be heating up too much when plugged in, remove the case before charging.

Heat doesn't just come from the outside environment.Your phone's processor has to work a lot harder when you do something like play graphics-intensive games, which can generate more heat than usual from within your device.And playing these games can also drain your battery quickly, so it's natural to want to plug into power.However, this combination of high processing and charging increases the heat generation even more, leading to overheating.

Video recording is resource-intensive, capturing and storing multiple megabytes of data per second and usually processing that footage at the same time. Even expensive mirrorless cameras capable of shooting high-quality video hit thermal ceilings (or have add-on fans to dissipate the heat). If you're recording lengthy clips, you may need to pause for a few minutes between them to allow the phone to cool down.

It's just a power charger, so why not get the cheapest one? Be wary of amazingly low prices, because they're often attached to knock-off products that don't include safety electronics for regulating power throughput and preventing overheating. It's better to pay slightly more and get a recommended USB-C charger or power bank that you know you can trust.

It sounds like the worst sort of overly general advice: Make sure your device's software is up to date. And yet it's usually good advice, especially in this case. For example, a bug in iOS 17, plus a problem with some apps, including Instagram and Uber, caused many iPhone 15 Pro phones to overheating. Apple soon released an update to fix the problem.Note that it's normal for a phone to warm up during and after a system update as the software optimizes data in the background. However, this is a temporary temperature elevation.Also, if you're running prerelease software such as the iOS 26 beta or the latest Android 16 beta, it's not uncommon for phones to run a little hot because the software usually doesn't get optimized for battery life until just before launch.

If you can't avoid the heat and often find yourself waiting for the phone to cool, consider buying an inexpensive thermal phone pouch to store it in. Using materials designed to protect astronauts from temperature extremes, a pouch will reflect direct sunlight and heat away from the phone. Thermal pouches also work at the other end of the spectrum, protecting your phone from cold weather, such as when you're skiing.

If overheating becomes a frequent problem -- and the phone isn't exposed to the other situations mentioned in this gallery -- a faulty or failing battery might be the cause.First, see what the phone is telling you: on the iPhone, go to Settings > Battery and check Battery Health. On Android, go to Settings > Battery > Battery Diagnostics (Pixel) or Settings > Battery information (Samsung). If the functionality is degraded, it might be time to schedule a battery replacement.And if the phone is bulging, cracked or shows other signs of a swollen battery, turn it off and contact the company's support programs immediately. That's a less likely circumstance, but with lithium-ion batteries, you don't want to mess around with safety.

Large electronics can produce a lot of background heat even when they're in standby mode. When the heat gets really bad, try unplugging larger electronics entirely. That can include A/V receivers, game consoles, desktop computers and televisions -- depending on what you plan to use that day.

On that note, refrain from running heat-producing appliances like dishwashers and dryers, or at least wait until nighttime when the temperature drops.

9. Replace your lighting with smart lights

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There's one other surprising part of the home that produces a lot of heat -- your incandescent lights, which are terribly inefficient at using energy (touch one to find out). Newer LEDs (light-emitting diodes) found in smart lights create almost no heat and tend to last much longer.

The key is finding high-quality, affordable smart lights, which is why you should head over to our list of the best smart lights available. Switch out those sweaty lights with LEDs and your house will start feeling cooler.

10. Create easy access to emergency medical services

If it looks like someone is suffering from heatstroke or a similar condition, it's important to get medical attention immediately to help them out. Signs include lots of sweating accompanied by headache, nausea and disorientation. If someone shows problems like these, get them in a cool spot and contact emergency services. You can also bathe their feet in cool water to help them get relief.

For more temperature management choices, visit our guide to the best smart thermostats and look at the top DIY security monitoring systems. It's also a good idea to brush up on heatstroke safety and how to stay safe when air quality is really bad.

First published on July 18, 2025 at 10:02 a.m. PT.