Blog > How to Maximise Cooling and Heating When You Live in a Rental

12/05/2026

How to Maximise Cooling and Heating When You Live in a Rental

Living in a rental doesn’t mean you have to suffer through hot summers or chilly winters. While renters often can’t make permanent upgrades like installing solar panels or replacing air conditioning systems, there are still plenty of smart, affordable, and landlord‑friendly ways to improve comfort and reduce energy bills.

With a few strategic tweaks and daily habits, you can make your rental feel cooler in summer, warmer in winter, and more efficient all year round.

Understand Your Rental’s Strengths and Weaknesses

Before making changes, take time to understand how your home behaves throughout the day and across seasons. Which rooms heat up first? Where do cold drafts come from? Does the sun pour in through certain windows in the afternoon?

Knowing this helps you work with the property rather than against it. Even small observations, like noticing which rooms stay coolest, can guide where you spend most of your time during extreme weather.

Use Curtains and Blinds to Your Advantage

Window coverings are one of the most powerful (and renter‑approved) tools for temperature control.

In summer, keep curtains or blinds closed during the hottest parts of the day, especially on north‑ and west‑facing windows. This blocks radiant heat before it enters the room.

In winter, open the blinds during the day to let in natural warmth from the sun, then close them as soon as the sun goes down to retain heat.

If your rental has thin or inadequate curtains, consider investing in thermal curtains or removable block‑out blinds. They’re easy to install, can move with you, and make a noticeable difference.

Use Curtains and Blinds to Your Advantage

Seal the Gaps (Without Making Permanent Changes)

Drafts are a major reason rentals feel uncomfortable and expensive to heat or cool.

Look for air leaks around:

  • Doors
  • Windows
  • Exhaust fans
  • Floorboards

You can use temporary draft stoppers, removable adhesive weather strips, or even rolled towels for door gaps. These simple solutions reduce heat loss in winter and keep hot air out in summer, all without damaging the property.

Be Smart With Air Conditioning

If your rental includes air conditioning or heating, careful use can dramatically improve efficiency.

Set cooling to around 24–26°C in summer and heating to 18–20°C in winter. Avoid switching air conditioning systems on and off frequently, steady operation uses less energy, and close doors to unused rooms so you’re only heating or cooling spaces you’re actually using.

It’s also worth checking your air conditioners filter to ensure that your system isn’t blocked. It is the tenants responsibility to keep the air conditioner filter clean, so maybe give your system a quick look over.

If systems are old or inefficient, it might be worth having a chat with your landlord to assess whether or not they are able to service or upgrade your air conditioning system.

Be Smart With Air Conditioning

Talk to Your Landlord (When It Makes Sense)

You’re entitled to a comfortable, safe home. If your rental has serious issues, like broken heating, unsafe wiring, or damaged insulation, it’s worth raising them with your property manager or landlord.

Frame the conversation around energy efficiency, reduced wear on appliances, and long‑term value of the property

Sometimes landlords are open to improvements like better curtains, sealing obvious gaps, or maintaining existing systems, especially when approached with clear benefits.

Create Daily Habits That Make a Difference

Create Daily Habits That Make a Difference

Consistency is key. Small daily actions add up:

  • Close up the house early on hot days.
  • Open it strategically at night.
  • Adjust settings gradually rather than drastically.
  • Pay attention to weather forecasts so you can plan ahead.

Over time, these habits become second nature, and your rental starts to feel far more comfortable.

Comfort Is Necessary

While renting can sometimes come with limitations, but it doesn’t mean you’re powerless when it comes to heating and cooling.

With thoughtful choices, portable upgrades, and smarter daily habits, you can dramatically improve comfort without breaching your lease or blowing your budget. Plus, you deserve to be comfortable at home.

The best part? Most of these solutions are affordable, reversible, and move with you, so you’ll keep benefiting long after you pack up and move on.