While living in South Florida we knew many retirees that owned and lived in mobile homes. Each year they had to paint the roofs which we were told helped reflect the sun and helped keep the inside cooler. Living in San Clemente we really have no need for a heater, most times you really don’t need an a/c unit, forget about a fireplace or hot water we only have suicide showers and our home does not have one pane of glass in any window. All we have are screens with wooden shutters for windows.
Our first hot season the house really heated up, as soon as the sun hit the dirty almost black roofing it turned into an oven. So we talked to our neighbor David (pronounced DA VEED) and had him pick up the supplies and hire a guy to help him clean, patch and paint our roof as well as adding an extension of roof panels to the porch area and while he was doing that we had him add a wooden beam so we could hang bamboo blinds to help even more to shade our porch area.
What a huge difference all of these improvements have made on the interior temperature of the house. At a minimum it is making a 10 degree difference.
We also purchased two exhaust fans that will be installed one in the kitchen/salon area and one in the master bedroom up near the ceiling to help remove any hot air trapped up near the ceilings.
Finding our Paradise in South America 
Fantastic, so glad you were able to cool down your house. And it really looks nice ! 🙂
Thanks John and Mary…it did make a big difference, now to get our a/c unit installed in our bedroom and we will be set. Nancy
Nancy, I thought you had a water heater for showers and sinks?
Hi TJ, our apartment in Salinas had a central hot water heater but only for the showers. When we moved into here we made the decision to go with the suicide showers because our electric bills in Salinas were high and it was all due to that little hot water heater. We were told to turn if off and back on when we needed hot water but who can remember to do that every day so we just left it on…These are cheap to run, cheap to replace and the water in our cistern is never really cold so now during the hot season you really don’t need to use any electricity. It’s refreshing per Joe, I still like the water hot. be well, Nancy
Yep, we painted our roof here too and it has helped a lot. We also have shade fabric on the west side of the house. I’m surprised that these cooling measures aren’t more common here since it keeps you more comfortable.
Hi Kris, I think it all comes down to the money, the locals cannot afford painting the roof, most houses that we see here just paint the front of the house, sides are left unfinished. I do want to know more about the shade fabric you used on the west side of your house, can you share with us? Nancy
True, true, but our neighbors are generally better off than many and don’t seem to know about some of these cooling measures. Some were fascinated by the fan in the window that pulls the cooler night air through the house, for example.
My husband wrote a post a while back about the shade fabric http://findingmyselfinpanama.wordpress.com/2013/02/03/need-more-shade-diy-with-saran-shade-cloth/
Kris, thanks I will look into it now, Nancy
Great job! 10 degrees is a MAJOR difference. Well done.
Hi David, it is so much cooler, we will see when it gets really hot if it makes any difference, N