7 ways to stay cool without AC
Who says you need the air conditioner running all summer to keep cool? Here are seven ways to beat the heat
By Lisa Hannam
Your eco challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to turn off your air conditioner one day a week. It's good for the environment, and you'll save money. Don't sweat it, instead, try some of these stay-cool tips.
• "Wear light, breathable clothing, and avoid polyester," says Adam Scott, green energy program coordinator for Environmental Defence and coordinator of the Green Energy Act Alliance.
• Open your windows, and use a fan to circulate the hot air out of your home, says Scott. "People will often close windows on a hot day, but it's better to get a breeze to blow through the house. It does work." Or install a cold-air return on your furnace, suggests Lindsay Coulter, spokesperson for the David Suzuki Foundation.
• Cool your pillow in the freezer before bed, Coulter suggests. Also, sleep in the basement.
• "Plant leafy, deciduous summer-shade trees near the windows of the east and west sides of your home," says Coulter.
• "Sleep naked," suggests Scott, and "take a quick cold shower just before bed."
• Install white drapes and awnings, says Scott. "They won't absorb the heat and will reflect it back out," he says. Coulter says window coverings can block 65 percent of the heat that comes through windows. You could also opt for light-coloured shingles on your roof.
• For days when you need AC, set it to 25 degrees Celsius."It's just as comfortable as 21 degrees Celsius," says Scott. If every Canadian household did this, imagine the impact on the Earth.
This article was originally titled "Turn off the AC!" in the Summer 2011 issue of Best Health. Subscribe today to get the full Best Health experience–and never miss an issue!
Best Health Magazine, Summer 2011
Nice ideas, however sleeping in the basement is difficult for me, I live in a condo. Same with trying to plant summer trees in the windows, I only face one direction, south. I use a fan now, no a/c whatsoever, however trying to cicualte air through the condo is difficult, because you can't get a cross breeze, when you only face one way. Same with putting up light coloured shingles, the roof above me is the neighbour upstairs. Great ideas, but written for people who live in houses, how about the rest of us?
I agree with Ted. We close up our house during the day and open windows at night. We only do this if the temperature and humidity are lower outside than inside. In 2011 we only needed the AC for 3 days and nights in a row. Other than that we used the AC during the hottest times of the day to stay comfortable. The CO2 crap is just that as there is no real therory behind it. Look at history. The earth is a 100 year cycle. What the temperature is this year is comparable to what it was about 100 years ago. There is no such thing as global warming as generations before us had to deal with this heat without AC.
I grow vines (Virginia creeper plus American bittersweet) on the sides of my house. They assist in keeping the outside of the house in shade, a slight breeze sets the leaves moving creating a fan on the outside. In the fall the leaves fall off and I can then get solar gain from the sun hitting the bricks in the cold season. The vines do not damage my bricks plus the vines grow quickly once established. I now trim them every year in the fall (standing on a chair) as they will grow up to the roof of a 2 story house in a season.
8./ Fly to Vancouver
It is 100°F outside right now. July 17/11. Some of your suggestions make sense and should be used in conjunction with AC, I e trees. It will take at least 10 years to get usable shade though and your house has to be properly oriented to the sun, which you cannot change. Plant them anyway if you have space. At least it will be helpful to the next occupant.
Outside window shades are the most effective at blocking the sun's heat. Any blinds or curtains are really trying to stop heat that has already got through the glass. Even the cheap indoor bamboo shades will last at least 10 years outside and surprisingly you can still see enough through them. I know, I do it!
An impractical solution to nearly everybody but which I use, is to cool the house in conjunction with lawn watering my one acre property. The 10°C well water first is diverted through a large V-coil heat exchanger below the fan in the air handler. I can adequately cool an entire 2,700 sq ft bungalow with just the water running through one garden hose.
Re thermostat setting, 25°C is comfortable if the humidity is not high. So it takes a while of cooling below that, to get the humidity down, before you can set the temp back up to 25°C.
And do not worry about CO2 emmisions. That is a phony issue not supported by real science but rather by the carbon traders to try and get more money out of us. Any effect of CO2 as a greenhouse gas has maxed out a while ago. Further increases will not add to that effect. A U. of Waterloo scentist has a paper on this issue and says also that the climate has been cooling for the last 9 years due to the decline in CFC's.
Typically on the really hot nights there is no wind, so opening windows is fruitless. What air creeps in just raises humidity and makes things worse. And it is usually dirty American air besides.
Also..put your hands or feet in cool or cold water..it will cool down your core body temperature. I use this trick all the time and it works!