Great ideas for reducing or eliminating your use of air conditioning this season.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://peakprosperity.com/10-tips-to-help-you-live-without-air-conditioning/
Good use of outdoor physical barricades (plants, shutters, awnings, trees) but they left out my favorite…
Tin Foil. Blocks all the infrared rays. Looks strange but in a true heat wave what a great tool. I also put up those metallic looking windshield covers in a pinch.
Their suggestions are much more attractive and again, in a pinch, foil has been awesome for helping out in serious heat waves in my home.
People open their windows up at night to let cooler air in, and close them (or at least the curtains/blinds/shades) during the day to keep it in during the hottest time of day.
Cross-ventilation in a room is important. In my experience, older homes were built with this in mind, and some modern houses seem to have "forgotten" this important feature. In my 1920 house, at least the downstairs windows and interior doorways are arranged to let air flow through from one side of the house to the other. Even the front/back doors have an airway path.
Some quickie cool-downs – douse wrists in cold water (a nice perk of rinsing dishes by hand), or dip feet in a tub of cool water up to your ankles. We still have a small kiddie pool for sitting around as a family or with guests with our feet soaking in cool water. A nice cool-off at night is to keep a spray mister of plain water next to your bed. Spray the water up into the air above you, and it will fall down and mist you, which is highly refreshing on a hot night. (Even better in conjunction with an electric fan, but the fan is optional.)
A cool, moist cloth draped around your neck is a nice cool-off. Cotton gauze is great for this.
I have sent my kids to bed with a cool, wet washcloth on hot nights.
Plan to be either somewhere cool or resting (not at motion) during the hottest part of the day. Siestas were invented for a reason. Plan activity (gardening, housework, cooking, exercising, etc.) for the morning or late afternoon.
Drink a ton of water, and plan to sweat, and take a cool shower if you must. Wait - don't dry off completely! The water evaporating from your skin will cool you off.
Outdoor shade is sometimes cooler than being indoors – depends on your house and your shade options.
If you have to go in and out of air-conditioning, try to minimize the number of transitions you make in a day. Going back and forth makes the hot feel hotter, in my experience.
Iced drinks are your friend. Water is your friend. Hydrate liberally so you can sweat so you can stay cooler.
Good old-fashioned hand fans are still quite useful. (Bonus if you have a kid who will fan you so you don't have to. Might be worth a nice tip.)
Living without air conditioning during the summer is possible, with just a little self-control. The money-saving potential is obvious, and you know you need that. A short term loan will help you pay for your power bill this month.
It is not impossible to live without air conditioning. It all depends where in the world you live, but most of us can do without air conditioning for the biggest part of the year. I find that staying hydrated makes the heat a lot more bearable. Letting cool air in during nighttime can make a huge difference, too.
Even if you do have air conditioning, it may be better to only use it when it's really hot to lower your power bills. If you have problems paying your bills, you can turn to personal loans to solve your immediate money needs.
You can switch to misting systems to stay cool during summer, economical and environment friendly tool to stay cool.
Get the one at : http://mistingsystems.net/misting-fans/