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

Information in this blog was last updated on June 23, 2026.

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 work or play outdoors, we need to protect ourselves and those around us from heat-related illnesses. There are a variety of things to consider, including:

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
Drink plenty of fluids
Wear appropriate clothing, sunscreen, and hats
Have first-aid available nearby
Pace activities and achieve heat acclimatization over time as summer moves along

If you work outside, these OSHA Guidelines can help keep you safe. The better we take care of ourselves during the hottest days, the better off we’ll be when we return home.

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

Now, how can we best ensure the place we call ‘home’ helps keep us cool during the hottest months? There are best practices for short and long-term projects/issues we will consider.

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.

On the short-term side, if you don’t have are conditioning:

Draw blinds by day to minimize solar gain

Open windows at night

Use fans to keep air moving
Keeping cool tips from CNN

If you have air conditioning

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

Replacing filters monthly, in season
Have equipment serviced and refrigerant checked
When using air conditioning keep doors and windows closed and locked to best join weather stripping and minimize heat infiltration
Make sure refrigerant pipe insulation is still functioning/change it out
Clean your condenser – this video explains it all
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 fire pit 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.

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 weatherstripping on doors and windows
Improved insulation in attic, basement, walls per recommendations based on your climate zone

Improved, upgraded ENERGY STAR 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