I grew up without AC in Florida.
Sit in the shade with a fan, be still. If in the shade and a breeze, and not moving around, a pretty high temperature is comfortable.
Go to places with cold AC or to cold springs to get cold, it will last awhile after you leave.
If it gets cool at night, open your window at night to let in the cold air, close it in the morning to keep that air in for the morning. But once it heats up inside, you are better off with ventilation - open windows on both sides of the house and run fans, to move air throughout the house.
If it's dry where you are (it doesn't work here) get wet and let evaporation cool you. Even here you can get wet and stand naked in front of a fan you will get cold.
STAY HYDRATED.
Block out the heat and sun during the day. Have everything open during the night, with a tactical fan placed wherever it helps the most.
But this only really helps the first few days. After that it's down to accepting the situation and being so tired that you fall asleep anyway.
tuen on the fans, close shutters during the day, drink water
I used to not have AC. I found the best strategy was to open up all the windows at night and let the cool night air in, and then as soon as I wake up I close all the windows, curtains and blinds to trap the cool air in and prevent the sun from heating it up through the windows. If you live in a house that has a basement and central heating, you could add some intake ducts down there and turn your furnace on to fan only mode to circulate the cool basement air into the rest of the house.
I was previously convinced that taking cold showers was my only saving grace during hot summers, but this year I got the advice to try to take a warm shower a short while before bed, and I'm surprised to say that it has helped. This is for high 20s though so YMMV for sure.
Other things that help:
- Open windows when outdoor temperature is lower than indoor temperature, and try to get a cross breeze going if possible
- Keep light out of the house by closing blinds during the day
- Wear linen clothing and use linen bedding, this material works better for warm conditions
- Fans help reduce perceived temperature by several degrees
If you have cool nights, setup fans up at night to bring the house down to a lower temperature. Close everything up in the morning when the outside temp starts rising above your inside temp. If your place is insulated reasonably and there's no excessive sun from windows, it will stay cool for the day.
Protip: Setup the fans in all rooms on one side of a chokepoint in your house/apartment (stairwell/hallway) to exhaust, to encourage airflow. Open up all the windows on the other side for intake. It'll also help reduce pockets of hot air left over from the day before.
Pro tip: Point the fan so that it blows outside and DO NOT put it directly on the window or right next to it. Instead, move it ~50cm away from the window to take advantage of Bernoulli's principle (push the air out more efficiently by pulling the air surrounding the fan).
You can cool down the room even if the door is closed. You are lowering the pressure inside your room so the outside air is forced to rush in. If you place the fan like I explained, and point it at the lower part of your window and you put your hand next to the upper part of the window, you will feel the cold air coming in.
I practice this same thermal battery idea as well with an extra tip of having a couple of fans on timers (sun up to sun down) that sit on the floor and blow the cold air up. It makes a significant difference, especially if you can sit a fan where the cold air from the AC falls to the ground.
Buy an AC unit. A mini split is fine.
Unfortunately I got used to it. I say unfortunately because lukewarm weather (even something like 22°C) feels extremely cold to me as a result.
Around here, Portugal, were every Summer the temperature exceeds 40 C for at least some days in August, we have outside rollup shades on every window, so one of the tricks is to keep the shades down and and the windows closed during the hottest and sunniest parts of the day, at the very least the afternoon.
Then at night you open the windows and let the cooler night air in (even better if you do it early morning, around sunrise, which is the coolest time of the day).
Note that this doesn't work well with curtains or internal shades, because with those any conversion of light into heat when the light heats the shades/curtains (as they're not mirrors and don't reflect all light back) happens inside the house and thus that heat gets trapped indoors.
I have internal curtains and blinds and this actually still works well, at least better than keeping them open. Maybe it would work better with externals but this is still worth doing if all you have is internal
Well, the more light you reflect out the better (I would expect that, for example, darker color curtains would be a problem) and ideally you want that whatever light does get converted into heat does so outside.
As it so happens, were I live the heat has been a problem in the Summer since well before AC was invented, so roll-up external shades are standard for all houses and apartments and that stuff definitely works if used as I described it.
Agreed. We do the same. It would work better externally but price is exorbitant here for such options. We also do all the same as OP and it works really well. Especially opening early morning at dawn to cool everything down.
Wet T-shirt and sitting in front of a fan.
We naturally cool our bodies by sweating.
You can sort of hack that process by getting a t-shirt wet, putting it on, and allowing the moving air to help speed up the evaporation process.
WARNING: NOT FOR USE IN HIGH HUMIDTY.
Adding more water to an already hot and humid situation risks a Wet Bulb.
And suddenly all those wet t-shirt contest promoters out there became heroes instead of villians.
You can sort of hack that process by getting a t-shirt wet, putting it on, and allowing the moving air to help speed up the evaporation process.
better when don't wear a shirt, spray yourself with water and sit it from of the fan; the convection feels fantastic on your skin.
WARNING: NOT FOR USE IN HIGH HUMIDTY.
Adding more water to an already hot and humid situation risks a Wet Bulb.
If the water coming out of your cold tap is cool (which it should be, since pipes are typically underground), then I think maybe it would still work because you could refresh the t-shirt with colder water occasionally. It's just less than ideal compared to doing it in a dry climate.
It would cool you a little as the cold water absorbs heat, but you'd have to wring and repeat as soon as it heats up, which might end up being often
If you're in a humid environment and you have a way, dry the air. It makes any other cooling thing you do more effective.
Sleep in the basement
Windows open at night. Curtains or blinds shut during the day.
When I worked in a restaurant kitchen, we used to soak rags with water and freeze them in the walk in freezer, then once it's nice and frozen we'd wear the rag around our necks.
There's large blood vessels in the neck feeding your brain, so if you're able to cool down the blood there, it'll spread to the whole body surprisingly fast.
I actually managed to get cold in hot humid july summer in the kitchen with that method.
If you have a freezer and a fan, freeze a bunch of water bottles and then put them right behind your fan blades for a cheap AC-like chilly breeze. If you have enough bottles, you can cycle through them and refreeze as they thaw out.
I'm no thermodynamics expert, but wouldn't this make your house warmer overall, unless the freezer is outside or in a garage/shed?
It will make the air behind your fridge warmer in exchange for making the air around your body cooler. There's usually not great airflow behind the fridge so it won't affect the rest of your house much.
If you've got an open kitchen or something you can still freeze the bottles at night and use them during the day.
You’re right which is why our freezer is out in the garage rather than in the house.
It will
Wish I knew this a few months ago
Another thing you can do is buy an ice vest - a vest with waterproof pockets for ice packs. They usually come with a load of extra ice packs so you can freeze and cycle through them. They’re great if you have to go outdoors for something.
AC is expensive but the freezer is already on so I’ve been rather creative with its use haha.
Doggo also enjoys a rubber bone thing that I fill with water and freeze so he can chew and stay cool. Also love freezing ice cubes full of berries and stuff too.
Thanks, I'd forgotten about this one. Our AC will be out for a few days. I've already started loading water bottles into the freezer.
Put them in a huge bowl of cold water to stretch the effectiveness. I did exactly this during an unbearable summer and it worked well. As to the comment about heating a room, you’re providing cool air on yourself. Worked well enough for me.
Run cold water over your wrists when you're starting to get hot.
Or any area of your body where there's a lot of blood vessels near the surface of your skin.
I like standing in a cool shower and letting the cool water run over the front and back of my neck.
At night cool your house down by opening windows and using windows fans. I have a two story house. Heat rises so I'll place window fans blowing out in the upstairs windows and fans blowing in upstairs. In the morning close up the windows and close curtains and shades over the windows that receive direct sunlight. If you have a room that gets hotter than the others shut the door to that room or hang a curtain over the doorway. My hot water tank is in a first floor room so I isolate that room and leave the windows open. Have a ceiling fan? Make sure it's blowing in the right direction. Most have a switch so you can alternate direction it blows the air. Not always practical but soaking your feet in cool water will lower your body temperature. Much like coolant cools a combustible engine car your blood circulates through your body distributing heat. Personally I avoid using AC while driving as much as I can. It's my opinion that when we get used to such comforts we suffer without them. I do have a window unit but use it only on the hottest nights. One last thought. Some lights or appliances in your house may give off a lot of heat, feel around them to find which ones do and switch them off. You can't do anything about your refrigerator (gives off a lot) I had a plasma TV that felt like a space heater and also used a lot of electricity
2 tips.
-
Negative air pressure is your friend. If you open the windows upstairs and down and blow air out of the house it'll suck air from the downstairs to the upstairs cooling the entire house.
-
Bernoulli's principle is your friend. Rather than having fans right next to the windows you'll move more air if you back the fans a meter or so from the window. https://youtu.be/BhWhTbins_A?si=9LGd0_EmfPFBNnDJ
Never heard of Beenoulli's Principle before, thanks for sharing.
would that principle still apply in the scenario of a window and wall being in the equation? I would imagine if that were true than more efficiency could be produced with a smaller fan inside ductwork vs a large unit which covers the entire cylinder size.
-
Also, close the blinds during the day, keeping the sunlight outside the house/apartment prevents it from getting warm.
However, a lot of things depends on the architecture, look at the house you see around the Mediterranean, small windowswith blinds, , porch to get more shadow, large wall, sometimes inner courtyard.
So basically briish "people"?
Those soakable cloth neck-wraps work as a cheap personal cooler($5).
The Coolify2 works as an expensive personal cooler(~$200).
If you have a fridge, freeze 2 litre ice-cream containers filled with water to make large ice blocks. Then put the block in a tub to melt, and sit your feet on it to stay cool(budget-mode, $cost of tap water)
I didn't go through all the comments so sorry if thus is a duplicate.
Last year I learned that having a wet (not soking-weat) towel on your feet or your belly can keep you cool during the night. If you struggle falling asleep without a blanket and your're to hot to sleep it might help.
Open everything up really early to cool the house and use fans to direct airflow. Close all the blinds facing the sun and follow it around the house through the day doing the same. We are lucky to have a basement so we also direct cool airflow from the basement to upstairs and through the house on the hottest days. We also run a dehumidifier because it's very humid here.
Open the windows at night and close them in the morning. If you have many electric devices, like I do, turn them off or put them into a dedicated room. With many, I mean lots of devices.
Go to the movie theater or supermarket for some AC.
Library is free
Your feet and head are both very vascular, so cooling them will help lots to cool the rest of you.
Head -
Ever been buzzed or bald before? If no, now could be the time to give it a shot. Worse case scenario, you look like shit and let it grow back to whatever's the shortest length that looks decent. Bonus: you'll save a ton of time and money on hair cuts/care.
Keep a container of water water and washcloths in your fridge. Take a cloth out when it's time to veg on the couch, and slap it on your noggin. When it dries, grab a new one. *recommend not throwing used ones back in the water w/o washing first, or your water will get nasty fast.
- If you decide to go buzzed and have never done it before, PROTECT YOUR NOGGIN/SCALP FROM THE SUN. Burns up there hurt like a mofo.
Feet -
This is trading heat discomfort for wet sock discomfort; but if that's a fair trade, then... yeah, wet your socks with cold water. A tub a cold water at the base of your couch can give you something to dip in while you're watching TV or something. Same spiel as the wash cloths - keep your socks/water/tub clean and don't reuse without washing first, or you'll get yourself trenchfoot or some nastiness.
Also, if you're in an apartment that disallows window units... they fit great in a fireplace, and the hot air just vents up the chimney. Your lease likely doesn't say anything about fireplace units. Just sayin'. Just make sure to seal the edges really well so hot air doesn't leak back into your living space.
Funny to see this question here a few weeks ago did I see someone link this https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Nqxjfp4Gi0k&feature=youtu.be
The video shows how to create a salt based pcm (phase change material). You can also buy packs like these but I thought it seemed more fun to create it myself, so it will be my summer project when the heat is not barrable. I think Putting it under a cap would do wonders.
my phone isnt letting me open the link, but is it the nighthawkinlight video?
Yes
I have a basement where I swear it's 10°C colder than upstairs.
I mean, given heat rises, the basement probably is 10 degrees cooler
Plus at least part of the walls will be exposed to the ground, not the air, and since past the first layer the ground stays consistently relatively cool, that helps a lot.
Not surprised, my basement is 58-64F (~14-18C) year round, no matter how hot or cold it is outside.
Spray water (fine mist from a bottle) on the inside of your windows and use it to stick aluminium foil to the glass, shiny side out. I do the top ⅔ of the north-facing windows (I’m in the southern hemisphere) each summer and it reduces the indoor heat significantly.
Water is amazing
Buy a dual hose portable AC, that's what I did when I lived in an apartment that would get VERY hot no matter what. (Actually, to save some $$ I got a single hose and modified it to a dual hose, but depending on the specific model and the tolerances they built it to, it risks short cycling and possibly burn out)
They're still not nearly efficient as a window AC, but far far better than those single hose ones
If you can fit a window AC do that instead, if you are able to make modifications, a small mini split/heat pump system would do wonderfully. Though I have heard that they make mini splits that go through small windows rather then needing to drill through the wall, so that might be an option too.
The other tips and tricks are nice, if you have exhausted all other AC options and simply can't have an AC at all (Which is mostly due to cost, dual hose portable ACs are pricey) but they really don't compare to an actual AC system.
A cross breeze is great. I can often turn off the ac during a hot day and just open the windows.
If no ac then stay in the basement while I reasonably can. Drive with windows open. If my work has no ac then the business closes. The material we work with has to be temperature controlled.
By living in a country with no seasons
The perfect plan. The only thing that could screw it up is if the climate somehow changed.
Drink lots of water, I guess? An air cooler might also come in handy - they're way cheaper than an AC. And yes, don't hold your yellow pee, because the burn will be intolerable.
If you have a basement, stay in it. When it was 108°F here in Seattle the other year, it was in the mid to high 70s in my basement office. If you do not have a basement, am evaporative cooking method can cool you a bit of you are in a dry climate. You could also hit up a pool or grocery store or movie theater. All those will help you cool off.
Check Craigslist for a portable AC unit. I was able to snag a free dual hose portable AC unit a month ago. The hotter it is though, the higher the prices are on Craigslist.
My basement has mold :(
An AC unit could actually help with that since it will dehumidify the space. Many have a dehumidify only mode. You would still want to bleach the mold that is there though. If you are renting, let your landlord know and hope they do something about it. It might be a legal requirement that they do something about it, especially if it is black mold.
Buy a portable AC unit and install it in your bedroom or living room window.
EDIT: I have this one that works well at least on a single room: https://www.amazon.com/Vremi-000-BTU-Portable-Conditioner/dp/B084H4B6NB?th=1
Look on Facebook marketplace - you could get 2-3 used for the price of one new.
It does it's job but it's suuper ineffective - you have to have a window open to suck in (hot outside) air that the portable AC cools itself with and throws out.
That open window even with that "sock" cover it comes with, lets back so much of the outside air and if you are like me renting a badly insulated flat, you are comfortable only when the AC is running, it won't really cool down (and keep cool) the living space.
I do wonder why they don't make a dual hose portable systems so that at least the unit is not pulling the air directly from the window, mixing already cool inside air with the hotter outside one.They do make dual hose portable units.
Keep windows open at night and into the morning
Fan pointed straight at you, on max blast through the night
It's significantly worse if your house is humid, and dehumidifiers increase the heat, but they're still worth it
The difference between how 80 F feels at 65% humidity vs 45% humidity is ridiculous. Lower humidity also makes cooling yourself by misting or damp cloths a lot more effective, because it will evaporate quicker.
Dehumidifiers should make it feel cooler since sweat evaporating is how we cool ourselves. Too much humidity means our sweat won't evaporate and we can't cool off.
It's significantly worse if your house is humid, and dehumidifiers increase the heat, but they're still worth it
Fun fact: the reason air conditioners are called "conditioners" instead of "coolers" is that they were originally designed for dehumidification.
If you live in a dry climate you can create a makeshift evaporation cooler with a fan, tub, water pump, and evap material.
Set it up in front of an opened window, blow it into the house, and open a window at the other side of the house. You can easily get 20 degree F drop in temp.
Get a cold wet towel wrapped around your neck. Feels so good.
You dont wanna just be blowing around the oven-like air trapped in your house. Open two windows on opposite ends of the house, and point a fan facing outside at one of the windows. This will pull air from the opposite window and create a crossbreeze of fresh air.
Lying shirtless on a hard floor can also help cool your body down
Happy cake day!
Do you have ceiling fans? I honestly have rarely even wanted AC because ceiling fans do such a good job at keeping the place cool up to at least the low 30s, when I'm not headed up from doing exercise.
Thank you for the cake day message!
At my family cottage, we had it for over 40 years before getting portable ACs. Generally we just avoided the heat waves. Cold waterbottles in between your neck and shoulders really helps circulate the cooled blood throughout your body. We ended up getting portable ACs one year because we were spending a week there and it was over 95f every day. A few years later one of us took a paid early retirement package and we used some of that money to get central AC, best upgrade for our cottage ever.
Never take a hot shower. In fact turn off your water heater if you can. The goal is to avoid having hot water in your pipes heating the house
Legionnaires Disease bacteria will grow if you turn down or off the heat though.
This seems like not a problem if you turn it off and drain it during the summer. But imo the real LPT is leave the hot water heater on its normal setting and just try not to use the hot water, especially during the day
Check out "radiative sky cooling"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDRnEm-B3AI
There might be some way to do something with this.
