When it comes to keeping your patio or lanai cool enough to enjoy here in Florida, we have good news! There are a variety of relatively simple options that work well alone or combined, depending on your needs.
Shade!
Creating shade can lower the temperature significantly. In Florida, LIGHT = HEAT. Large green plants, drop screens, shades, cool umbrellas, sails, breezy curtains, a pergola, canopy, or breathable awning fabric will effectively filter or block the sun’s rays.
You might also consider swapping your terrace furniture to something made with natural fibers, which doesn’t trap body heat and think about an outdoor rug to deflect rays. Not only is it a great focal point that pulls an outdoor room together, but when the sun beats down on patio pavers, they trap and radiate heat, which can raise temperatures and burn feet.
Fans!
If your patio has a roof, you can’t go wrong with installing an outdoor ceiling fan. While it doesn't lower the temperature by degrees, it fools you into thinking it does. The cool breeze from the fan brushes against your skin, speeding the evaporation of your sweat, which lowers your body temperature.
Mist!
Misting fans are highly effective cooling options for muggy areas like Florida. Flash evaporation can lower the temperature in an area by as much as twenty degrees. Mist also efficiently cleans smog and contaminants from the air. They work by using convection, conduction, and evaporation.
Convection is the removal of heat from a surface by air currents. Breezy air flowing along your skin carries off some of your body heat. All fans work by convection, and they help as long as the air is cooler than our body temperature.
Conduction is the direct temperature transfer that happens when you’re in contact with something like water. Each tiny drop from a misting fan rapidly transfers its chilliness to your skin since water conducts temperature 25 times more effectively than air.
Evaporation is the heart of the misting fan’s success. When water evaporates, individual H2O molecules are breaking free of the connected mass of liquid and drifting off into the air. For the molecules to separate, they need quite a lot of heat energy, and they take that heat from whatever’s nearest. These molecules use your body heat to transform themselves into water vapor. As they remove that heat from your skin, it results in cooling you down.
Misting fans are the way to go when you want to drop the temperature a substantial amount.
Some, or all of these options combined, will get you back outdoors and enjoying your p.atio or lanai, even in the hottest weather.
