Print PDF
Favorite
Email
Recently I listened to a podcast from an Air Conditioning expert, which I didn't even know existed . It got my brain going about how to stay cool without using an air conditioner.
I have been trying some of his tips, plus some of my own ideas, and thought I'd share them here.
The results have been very successful, and at my house we now run our air conditioner for only brief periods of time throughout the day while the other tenants in our unit blast theirs almost nonstop.
The most interesting thing I discovered is just how arbitrary the standard 72 degrees F is. I am convinced that this temperature is based on wearing a business suit, which people almost never wear in their own homes in the summer. The truth is that there is no ideal temperature.
These ways to stay cool fit into three categories: Lowering the temperature of your house, lowering your body temperature, and changing your perception so that the heat doesn't bother you so much. Not all of these steps are practical for everyone, but if you can find one or two that you can turn into habit, it can make a difference in comfort and/or in energy consumption.
In addition, I have listed some bonus "green" benefits on each step where they apply.
I have been trying some of his tips, plus some of my own ideas, and thought I'd share them here.
The results have been very successful, and at my house we now run our air conditioner for only brief periods of time throughout the day while the other tenants in our unit blast theirs almost nonstop.
The most interesting thing I discovered is just how arbitrary the standard 72 degrees F is. I am convinced that this temperature is based on wearing a business suit, which people almost never wear in their own homes in the summer. The truth is that there is no ideal temperature.
These ways to stay cool fit into three categories: Lowering the temperature of your house, lowering your body temperature, and changing your perception so that the heat doesn't bother you so much. Not all of these steps are practical for everyone, but if you can find one or two that you can turn into habit, it can make a difference in comfort and/or in energy consumption.
In addition, I have listed some bonus "green" benefits on each step where they apply.
Remove these ads by
Signing UpStep 1Get naked!
Or at least closer to naked.
I know this isn't for everyone, but its amazing how much more comfortable 80 degrees Fahrenheit feels if you're shirtless.
If you live on your own then this is no problem.
If you live with close friends or family, then wearing just your underwear is probably not a big deal either.
If you live with roommates, you can wear lighter-weight clothing like shorts, tank tops, etc. Even going barefoot helps your body eliminate heat more effectively.
In any case, you can probably wear as little clothing as you like at nighttime while you're in bed. If it feels strange at first, give it a few nights and see if you don't get used to it. While you're at it, get rid of your blanket and just sleep under a top sheet.
Wear fabrics like jersey cotton, nylon mesh or linen which don't hold onto heat.
BONUS: You will end up doing less laundry.
BONUS: Your clothes will last longer since you are spending less time wearing them and not washing them as often.
BONUS: Being naked is fun.
I know this isn't for everyone, but its amazing how much more comfortable 80 degrees Fahrenheit feels if you're shirtless.
If you live on your own then this is no problem.
If you live with close friends or family, then wearing just your underwear is probably not a big deal either.
If you live with roommates, you can wear lighter-weight clothing like shorts, tank tops, etc. Even going barefoot helps your body eliminate heat more effectively.
In any case, you can probably wear as little clothing as you like at nighttime while you're in bed. If it feels strange at first, give it a few nights and see if you don't get used to it. While you're at it, get rid of your blanket and just sleep under a top sheet.
Wear fabrics like jersey cotton, nylon mesh or linen which don't hold onto heat.
BONUS: You will end up doing less laundry.
BONUS: Your clothes will last longer since you are spending less time wearing them and not washing them as often.
BONUS: Being naked is fun.
| « Previous Step | Download PDFView All Steps | Next Step » |
aavaas.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/matka.jpg An earthen pot or *Matka* as we call it in India.
Since carbon emissions are important to a lot of people, including me, I do mention that doing many of these things can reduce carbon emissions. However I want to discourage using the comments section to debate global warming. Save that for next time you have dinner with your in-laws.
This instructable is about cooling down yourself and possibly your house, so please limit discussion to that and MAYBE to talking about colonial British military officers and their bushy mustaches. Thanks!
I don't have a dryer. I hang my laundry outside in the summer, and inside in the winter if it's too cold or overcast. But in answer to your statement of why American use dryers instead of hanging them outside is due to people, in cities and towns, stealing your clothes of the lines. Had a friend that this happen to in a small town. I don't have this problem as I live out in the country.
Summertime humidity in many states gets into the 80's and beyond.
Dehumidifying the air to 50 percent makes even a hot room more comfortable.
In drier states, the humidity is lower than 30 percent, making the use of evaporative (swamp) coolers effective.
Natural body cooling works best if humidity is in the 30-50 percent range,
A lush backyard and living walls can keep your house about 5 degrees cooler than bare house!
this is a tip that i use. I live in a 2 story house with a basement. heat rises. our basement is much cooler than the second floor so in the hot summer days we simply hang out in the basement (it's fixed up so it's nice).
with ventilation what I do is I open all the windows and put fans blowing out only in the second floor windows (keeping doors open). because heat rises the fans will exhaust the hot air and draw in cooler air from below. this is called "chimney effect". along the same lines I also have a big fan in my attic to exhaust the attic heat. keeping the attic cooler can really help the rest of the house.
another thing that i do is during the summer I close all the lower level return air grills so that when I run the air conditioning, the furnace is sucking in the warmer upstairs air rather than the cooler downstairs air. (in the winter I do the opposite).
Scrolling down on this page leads to a soil temperature map though the whole page is pretty interesting on the topic of climate control:
http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/digests/bsd-113-ground-source-heat-pumps-geothermal-for-residential-heating-and-cooling-carbon-emissions-and-efficiency
In other words if you find yourself with an abundance of excess warmth be generous with it and toss your extra out the window! You really cannot blow cool in as there is no such thing. You can do something like it, but it is inefficient. What you're really doing is pressurizing your interior and forcing hot out elsewhere.
By the way, most bottle water does not come from a mountain stream in the alps. It is tap water. If you already have reasonably good water there is no need to get bottled water.
That said, you can freeze bottles of water and prop them up in a bowl with another bowl upside down inside the larger bowl and blow a fan across them to cool the air. It should take out some of the humidity as the condensation will run into the large bowl. Note: the second bowl inside prevents condensation underneath the larger bowl.
Practical ible!
Oh yeah, back to basics, keep a handkerchief or anything of that manner with you in case you sweat like hell. That's what you do when you're in an epically humid environment, where sweat doesn't evaporate nearly as fast if you were in the drier climates.
I am very amused that you noticed!
Have a sensational day, Bindle!
While I understand we are talking about lowering your temperature, if you want to take care of your esophagus and absorb that water into your system faster, go for luke warm.
I know I know, kinda irrelevant :P
I don't mean to be a downer, but perhaps you could add some disclaimers stating that this works best in certain climates, or that people with medical conditions should be safe, etc. Unfortunately, these tips just don't help all that much everywhere.
They're good tips, especially when seen as ways to either reduce your AC use or to enhance it. Sorry I was a grumpypants.
Still, I'm sorry I took it out on you. :D
No hard feelings?
Cold water to cool yourself off can work, but hold it in your mouth until it stops feeling cold. Or else pour it over your head.
Use it in a car, lawn chair, couch, etc. Uses ice and a bit of electricity.
Fire-fighters now use hand/arm soaking cooling when they get overheated. This nearly instantly cools them down so they can return back to fire-fighting, where they use this cooling-chair.
Just keep a bucket, like a sink-bucket, and add some ice to the water and soak your hands in it...
Better yet... hold a cold beverage in your hands. Drinking it will not lower your core temperature. You just cool your poo, which is generating heat to combat the cold that just came in. (Your belly is what WANTS to be hot. The colder your belly is, the more heat it generates. Your body wants to be 98.6F inside.) Keeping your belly wrapped-up will trick your body into thinking it is warmer, thus, it creates less heat, making you feel cooler too.
But I learned this trick from TV and watching fire-fighters here. This is also used in reverse, to stop hypothermia in divers. Wet-suits use heavy insulation on arms and feet, with little on the belly. This causes your belly to sense the cold, causing it to heat-up more, while the insulation on your arms and legs stop the heat from being lost.
I use this trick when I mow lawns in Florida. Don't drink anything unless you are parched. If you drink, drink warm water which absorbs faster and will lower your bodies "warming" triggers. Put a chilled towel on your arms and neck... Continue mowing like it is 75F outside, in the full sun. (Ok, not great for sunburn detection, as you always feel cool.)
Also note... fanning yourself is counter-productive. You heat-up more than you cool, in the action of fanning. Pant like a dog, it is more effective.
Another note... lol...
Fans use less power than AC, but they generate heat in your home, blowing hot air on you, heating up the air inside your home to 98.6F + 50Watts an hour. (That is a modest fan size, cieling fans are 50-150watts... Grab a 150watt lightbulb... that is how hot a 150watt fan gets.)