Keeping cool with no central air? It’s no sweat!
Practical guidelines for when you need to cool off, like now
It’s a safe bet that most of us will have our air conditioning units running full blast this summer, putting the usual seasonal strain on the power grid. Not everyone, of course, has air conditioning. A lot of the life-hacky “12 tips for keeping cool in the summer” stuff you read online, involve making radical changes, like growing shade trees over your house or installing a whole house fan.
Great advice, if you’ve got 30 years to wait for a tree to grow or if you’ve got a few grand to drop on a contractor. But it’s not particularly useful if it’s 35 C (95 F), outside and you need to cool off — like now.
So I’ve put together guidelines that are actually practical for the average schmo like you or me. Someone who either lives in an apartment and can’t make major changes to their home, or who is either too cheap or lazy to do so. Someone with maybe a few bucks to spend on a fan at Home Depot, but who doesn’t want to blow thousands of dollars on Byzantine alternative cooling systems.
You don’t need to be an anti-AC fundamentalist — use them to supplement your air conditioning and you’ll probably shave a few bucks off your summer electric bills.
SHUT IT ALL DOWN BEFORE YOU LEAVE FOR WORK
During the daytime when it’s getting hot out, shut your doors, shut your windows and draw your curtains or blinds as tight as can be. Your home has probably cooled off overnight, which means that soon the air outside is going to be hotter than the air inside. Don’t let it in.
If you have exterior shutters, shut them, or awnings over your window, lower them! These are much better at blocking sunlight and heat than interior shades. If you have curtains, you want them light-coloured and as tight against the wall as possible to reflect heat.
Check the seals around your windows and doors — feel any warm air flowing? Seal them up with caulk or weatherstripping.
OPEN IT ALL UP WHEN YOU GET HOME
As soon as it feels cooler outside than it does inside, fling those windows wide open.
Conventional wisdom states that you want to open windows that are across from each other to get that nice cross-breeze effect going. But this isn’t optimal. Instead, open up the windows at the lowest and highest points in your house. This creates a “chimney” effect: cool air enters the house through the lower windows. As it heats up, it travels upward and eventually vents out the upper windows.
Depending on how the wind is blowing, you’re likely to find that breezes tend to blow air in more on some sides of your house than others. Open some windows, close others, see what produces the best air flow.
NOW THAT YOU KNOW HOW THE AIR IS BLOWING, GIVE IT A HAND WITH A FAN
If you’re gonna stick a fan in a window, make sure it’s blowing with the natural air current, not against it. You can also use a fan to blow air out of the windows —where the air is naturally venting.
If you have multiple levels but only one window fan, put the fan on the top level blowing out to get that chimney effect going.
When showering, use your bathroom fan to blow that hot, humid air out of the house. Ditto if you’re cooking on the stove and have an exhaust fan that vents outside.
USE YOUR BASEMENT
Head to the basement. Chances are it’s about 20 degrees cooler than it is upstairs. Put that cold air to use! Prop the basement door open and stick a big ol’ box fan right there to suck the cool air up to the main levels.
Get one of those mountable industrial fans that you can bolt on to the wall or ceiling of your basement stairwell and set it to blow the air up.
TURN OFF LIGHTS AND OTHER HEAT-GENERATING THINGS
A fair amount of interior heat can be generated by things like light bulbs (especially incandescent and halogen bulbs), and some appliances. Put your hand near any light bulbs, electronics or appliances. Does the air feel warm around it? Switch it off or unplug it.
Same thing with computers: If you’re watching Netflix on a laptop on your lap, you’re probably giving yourself a double-dose of heat. The laptop is physically warming your legs, plus if the fan’s going, it’s blowing that hot air out into the room. Put the computer to sleep if you’re not using it.
Cook on a grill outside instead of a stove inside. If you have a dryer, run it at night when it’s cool, or put off laundry for a few days until the heat breaks. Ditto your dishwasher. If you have a few bucks to burn, consider replacing older incandescent or halogen bulbs with newer CFL or LED bulbs that put off less heat.
COOL THYSELF
If you’re confident you’re doing all you can to cool the whole house down, it’s time to think about making yourself comfortable. Ceiling and table fans are great for this — they don’t actually cool the house, but they make it feel cooler. If you’re fortunate enough to have a ceiling fan over your bed, run it when you’re sleeping — this will make the air feel about four degrees cooler than it actually is.
No ceiling fan? No problem: Get a table or box fan and point it right at yourself when you’re sleeping, which should provide close to the same effect.
IF ALL ELSE FAILS?
If it’s unbearably hot and there’s no AC, wet a cloth with cold water, drape it around your neck, and point a fan right at your head, as Christopher Mims suggested in Grist a few years ago.
You may end up with a damp spot on your couch, but by that point you won’t even care.