Across India, millions of people are facing increasingly severe and record-breaking heat waves. For families living on low incomes, the risks are often greatest. Many homes have concrete or tin roofs that absorb the sun’s heat throughout the day, turning living spaces into ovens long after the sun has gone down.

Home should be a place to rest and recover from the day but for Devi (pictured above) and her family, who live in the coastal town of Tamil Nadu, the heat inside their house was unbearable. For Devi, the nights were particularly difficult.

“Our house would get so hot, we used to sleep outside,” she says.

Habitat for Humanity has been working alongside communities in Tamil Nadu to test range of housing solutions designed to reduce indoor temperatures. One promising approach is heat-reflective roof paint – a simple coating that reflects sunlight away from the home, helping keep rooms cooler throughout the day.

But rather than assuming the solution would work everywhere, we partnered with local residents to find out. Families like Devi’s helped test the paint on the types of roofs commonly found in their communities, providing valuable insight that will help shape future projects.

The results have been remarkable. Across multiple homes, indoor temperatures dropped by up to 5°C. For families experiencing extreme heat, that difference can mean better sleep, greater comfort, and a healthier home environment.

Because the solution is simple to apply, homeowners can paint their roofs themselves. Now, Habitat is working with local companies to make heat-reflective paint available in neighbourhood hardware stores at prices families can afford.

For Devi, the impact is already clear. A cooler home means her family can sleep safely indoors once again. And by sharing her experience, she’s helping open the door to a solution that could improve life for many more families in the years ahead. “Now, we get a full night’s sleep indoors,” says Devi.