Keeping Our Cool: Summertime Strategies for Safety, Comfort, and Energy Efficiency

Information in this blog was last updated on June 24, 2025.

There are two priorities for facing the heat of a St. Louis summer: keeping ourselves and our homes safe, healthy, and comfortable.

The Missouri Botanical Garden’s Sustainability Division has some ideas of how to do just that, while also keeping energy efficiency in mind.

Personal heat safety and sustainability

Whether we commute, work, or exercise outside we need to protect ourselves and those around us from heat-related illnesses. There are a variety of ways to do so:

A person wears a wide brimmed hat while gardening. — *A person wears a hat while gardening in the heat.*

Be outside early or later in the day to avoid mid-day heat.
If needed, utilize area cooling centers.
Carry a reusable water bottle to drink plenty of fluids. Reusable bottles often keep drinks cooler than single-use plastic bottles.
Wear appropriate clothing, sunscreen, and hats.
Have available first-aid nearby.
Pace activities and achieve heat acclimatization over time as summer moves along.

If you work outside, these OSHA Guidelines can also help keep you safe.

An infographic from OSHA shares ways to prevent heat illness. This includes drinking cool water, taking rest breaks, finding a shaded area, dressing for the heat, watching out for each other, and changing a face covering if you wear one. — *OSHA guidelines for heat safety.*

Heat safety at the Missouri Botanical Garden

*Two visitor sit on a shaded bench at the Missouri Botanical Garden. Photo by Kristina Schall DeYong/ Missouri Botanical Garden.*

The Missouri Botanical Garden is beautiful in the summertime, but there are still some days where even our canopy of trees can’t keep the heat at bay.

Tips for visiting the Garden in the summer:

Come in the morning or join us for Extended Evening Hours.
Bring a water bottle and use our filling stations.
Take a break on one of the many benches in the Garden.
Seek out the more shaded areas like the English Woodland Garden.
Stop in at the the Sachs Museum, Tower Grove House, or Kemper Center to cool off and explore.
Little ones can enjoy the splash pad in the Children’s Garden.

If you are hiking at Shaw Nature Reserve, practice heat safety like bringing plenty of water, finding a shaded trail, and hiking before 10 a.m.

Heat Safety and Energy Efficiency at Home

How can we best ensure the place we call home keeps us cool during the hottest months? There are a few best practices you can follow both short-term and long-term to beat the heat.

Some solutions not only will keep you safe, but can also help lower your electric bill this summer.

If you don’t have air conditioning

First of all, if equipment breaks down, power outages occur, or you have no air conditioning to begin with, know where our area cooling centers are and utilize them as needed.

Cool Down St. Louis also helps provide air conditioning units to people in need.

On the short-term side, if you don’t have air conditioning, there are some steps you can take to keep the heat at bay:

Draw blinds by day to minimize solar gain.
Open windows at night.
Use fans to keep air moving.

If you have air conditioning

Maintaining you HVAC system can prevent issues that may leave you without air conditioning and make your system more energy efficient.

Replace filters monthly while in season.
Have your equipment serviced and refrigerant checked.
Make sure your refrigerant pipe insulation is still functioning.
Clean your condenser.
Seal your ductwork.

An infographic from the U.S. EPA shows where to air leaks can occur, allowing heat to enter homes. There include the dryer vent, outdoor faucet, crawl space, sill plate, to plate, duct register, dropped soffit, plumbing vent stack, recessed light, attic hatch and duct register. — *An infographic from the U.S. EPA shows where to air leaks can occur, allowing heat to enter homes.*

Other tips to keep your home cool

Whether you are with or without AC, there are a few other methods of reducing heat in your home and being a little more enegy efficient.

Cooking outside on a grill or at a controlled firepit is one option to keep the heat out of your house. Another way is to do your dishes and laundry in the cooler evening hours. You can also line-dry your clothes to lower electric use and keep things cooler.

Did you know? Ameren offers energy efficiency programs for Missouri and Illinois customers.

Longer-term energy-efficiency projects

One way to avoid heat is to make your entire home more energy efficient for every season.

Building envelope improvements:

Air sealing around cracks, crevices, lights and penetrations into or out of the house (this will keep bugs out and your cooling energy in).
Up-to-date weather-stripping on doors and windows
Improved insulation in attic, basement, walls per recommendations based on your climate zone

Improving and upgrading you HVAC systems:

Right-sized equipment to complement your insulation, windows, and square footage.
Right-sized ductwork to ensure your system delivers cool air at peak efficiency.
Programmable thermostats.
If you have air sealed the house, manage outside air intake and freshness with an Energy Recovery Ventilator.
ENERGY STAR window AC Units and get the right size for your room.

Sustainability Resources

Green Resource Info Services

Whatever your question, the Garden’s sustainable-living experts are at your service! We can help you:

find green products and services
evaluate green claims
plan your green home or lifestyle project

Every Day Sustainable Living

The Missouri Botanical Garden provides resources for advancing sustainability:

We aim to support and educate about energy efficiency, reducing waste, controlling storm water, improving indoor air quality and saving money.

Richard Reilly | Program Manager Energy for the Earthways Center