Staying cool

[thebratqueen]

Now that summer heat is hitting some of us, I thought it might be a good idea to do a thread dedicated to ways to keep cool while still keeping the energy bill down.

Obviously the big one is the AC. If you have one, great, but it can be an energy hog. So what are ways to avoid using it?

Comments

[par_avion]

This sounds crazy, but I lived without AC for years, including an NYC heatwave that melted all my candles.

A lot of modern curtains are thin and gauzy. Pretty but not that great at keeping the sun out. I actually lined one of my windows (the one that was in the sun all day) with tinfoil, shiny side out, to reflect the sun away -- like those windshield blockers for the car. It helped.

[kaethe]

What I'm doing at the moment, which seems to be working:

Run the A/C (I have central air) at 76 during evening/night. Turn it off as soon as I get up. Keep ceiling fans going all the time to keep the air moving and semi-cool. So far, it's kept my house at a reasonable level of cool, and I don't think the A/C has to work as hard to cool down the house at night as it would during the day. If I need to run the stove or dryer, I do it at night when the air is already on.

[ladystarlightsj]

Also, use an electric frying pan instead of a stove-top model. (actually, I use mine for everything, almost)

[celli]

I have a 2-way window fan that I use in a similar fashion; during the day it runs on exhaust to get rid of the hot air that builds up in my room every morning, and at night I reverse it to bring the cooler air in.

I also freeze water bottles to make ice bottles. If you don't mind your lap getting wet, you can keep one in your lap while reading or driving and it cools you down (as well as, you know, drinking from it).

[giglet]

If you own your own house: put a canopy over the south-facing windows, and put a whole-house fan (rigged to a thermostat) in the attic.