Keep your fireplace damper closed unless a fire is going. Lower the thermostat setting to between 50 and 55 F. Check the seal on the flue damper and make it as snug as possible. Add caulking around the fireplace hearth. Use grates made of C-shaped metal tubes to draw cool room air into the fireplace and circulate warm air back into the room. When selectively placed around a house, they provide excellent protection from the summer sun but permit winter sunlight to reach and warm your house.
Vines provide shading and cooling.
Grown on trellises, vines can shade windows or the whole side of a house.