# Keeping Cool



## Admin (Jul 24, 2013)

How are you guys keeping cool while still looking at the cost of cooling? 

Anyone have any good ideas on things that don't run on electricity?


----------



## bud16415 (Jul 24, 2013)

Up north here we have had a hot and humid few weeks but today it cooled back down to the low 70&#8217;s and is quite comfortable. We mostly put up with the heat as it&#8217;s only a week here and there and most people just have a window unit or two or just fans. 

We spend all mental energy on thinking up ways to stay warm in the winter and get rid of snow. We are seeing a lot of outside wood burners that make hot water and run it underground to the house. Keeps all the danger and mess and dirt a couple hundred feet from the house and near the wood shed. After going to the steam tractor show last weekend I was thinking about using one in the summer to charge an electric car. I could drive to work with wood being my fuel source. Little off topic but that&#8217;s what I have been daydreaming about.


----------



## inspectorD (Jul 24, 2013)

Austin said:


> How are you guys keeping cool while still looking at the cost of cooling?
> 
> Anyone have any good ideas on things that don't run on electricity?



You mean...you guy's don't have a local swimmin hole??..I mean...that's where we keep the beer!:beer:


----------



## Chris (Jul 24, 2013)

Swimming hole? I live in CA land of nothing so we just run the air.


----------



## nealtw (Jul 24, 2013)

Three weeks of 85 plus working in the sun, any place shadey feels better. My basement stays about 70, nice.


----------



## Chris (Jul 24, 2013)

I wish it would get down to 85 here.....


----------



## nealtw (Jul 25, 2013)

We're used to a couple days a year, it's the humidity that gets to you.


----------



## Drywallinfo (Jul 25, 2013)

If one lives in a very small apartment they may set up their own AC unit with some frozen containers of ice in a cooler with a fan blowing over them. The ice will melt, absorb heat, and cool and dry the air. This could also work well in a bedroom. Of course you need a little electricity to run the fan (but very little), and you need to either buy the ice or have a deep freeze to make it.


----------



## Fireguy5674 (Jul 25, 2013)

Today the windows are open and the breeze blowing through.  After a couple of weeks in the 90's with 70% humidity it is wonderful.  AND the electric meter is not spinning at a insane speed!!!!!!!


----------



## Admin (Jul 25, 2013)

I'm thinking of adding solar blinds. Anyone have them? Do they work?


----------



## Chris (Jul 25, 2013)

You could probably buy curtains?


----------



## oldognewtrick (Jul 25, 2013)

Austin said:
			
		

> I'm thinking of adding solar blinds. Anyone have them? Do they work?



There's a doctor I've worked for who has huge windows on the front of his house, he replaced the window screens with solar screening and said you wouldn't believe the difference it made. He bought the material at Lowe's and did it himself.


----------



## Admin (Jul 26, 2013)

Cool, I'll check it out.


----------



## geneaqueen (Jul 31, 2013)

Trees. On really hot days, a fan on the shady side blowing in, a fan on the sunny side blowing out. Windows open during the cool night, closed and shades drawn during the hot day. Eventually we're going to put vents and small fans in the heat ducts to draw the very very cold air out of the basement and circulate it through the house. We haven't even put our window ACs in the last two years.


----------



## Drywallinfo (Jul 31, 2013)

The best thing you can do is plant some leaf-bearing trees (like maples) on your south side as near the house as possible. These will shade the house in the summer and allow sun in during the winter months. Shade is a really big factor - on our north screen porch we had grape vines covering the west side and it was always nice and cool. The cat wrecked the screen and I had to remove vines to repair this. Now, without the shade on that west side, the porch is not nearly as cool.


----------



## paulsz (Jul 31, 2013)

Austin said:


> How are you guys keeping cool while still looking at the cost of cooling?
> 
> Anyone have any good ideas on things that don't run on electricity?



I work from home on my computer with two monitors. All that equipment gives off a lot of heat. I started using a car air flow cushion on my plastic chair. What a difference.


----------



## Chris (Jul 31, 2013)

I work from home to and my electric bill reflects that.


----------



## paulsz (Jul 31, 2013)

Our electric company has a program called 'smart hours'. From 2-7 we set our temp at 84 and they jack up the rates. It turns out we save about $25 to $45 / month since the rates at all other times are significantly lower. My computer room gets a little uncomfortable so I run a little fan. With the cushion it's not too bad.


----------



## Chris (Jul 31, 2013)

This year is the first year I have run the AC almost non-stop. I saved money over the winter expecting the extra car payment for the summer and it is worth it. I love having a cool house when it is over 100 outside.


----------



## Admin (Aug 1, 2013)

Same here. My wife is a stay at home, so the AC never shuts off. We put in some curtain which are helping out at the peek hours, but it's still so hot.


----------



## Archena (Aug 1, 2013)

Drywallinfo said:


> If one lives in a very small apartment they may set up their own AC unit with some frozen containers of ice in a cooler with a fan blowing over them. The ice will melt, absorb heat, and cool and dry the air. This could also work well in a bedroom. Of course you need a little electricity to run the fan (but very little), and you need to either buy the ice or have a deep freeze to make it.



You could use blue ice for this. Just have enough on hand that some can be in the freezer while you are using the others.


----------



## Daddytron (Aug 2, 2013)

It's in the mid 90s up here. I leave my ac set to 72 during the day with the furnace fan set to on. Keeps the cool air flowing. I have a nice north exposure so sunlight isn't a big deal, but have blackout curtains on all my Windows except the kitchen.


----------

