Keeping it cooler

So now that we are in the middle of an oppressive heat wave here, and the a.c. is working, it has seen more efficient years, so I'm looking for ways to cut down on the amount of extra heat we normally generate in the house. I have a few ways, but would love more suggestions if anyone has any.

Very early morning or later night, lukewarm only showers.
No cooking by oven (very seldom do in the summer anyway), and cooking early morning (when possible) on stovetop only. Range is electric, so it doesn't have as much heat escape into the room as gas does anyway. If cooking at dinner time - on stovetop and quick cook meals only. It's a Manwich night tonight!
Using the gas grill outside when possible, but mine is a real pain to light, so usually only use it on weekends when someone else can do the honors.
Eating more cold meals such as sandwiches and wraps and salads.
When using the clothes dryer, when the signal goes off that the clothes are dry, reset it to air only (no heat) and run for about 10 minutes to disburse the residual heat and completely cool down the clothes so that it isn't putting any heat into the house when the door is opened. Mine's in the mud room right off the kitchen and not in a basement (which I don't have). :(

Anyone have any other tips??? - other than to buy a new a.c. unit??? Yup - that's been discussed for the past 3 summers - and talk is cheaper than a new one! :(:p

I live near Dallas, so I feel your pain....will be 98 today, I think....We had to get a new AC unit three summers ago, and just paid it off!! They are very expensive!! Last summer, we found out our city would give a rebate if you got new insulation. We've lived in our house for 15 years, and we had not a clue if new insulation had ever been put in the attic or not...well, we did....it cost us $900 but we got a $300 dollar credit on our next utility bill. I think it has helped tremendously with the energy costs....We'll see for sure when I get my next bill because this has been a hotter summer than last. New insulation is a lot cheaper than a new AC unit....

Draw all blinds/shades/shutters. Keep them closed. It serves dual purposes- keeps out the heat and keeps the house darker- which seems to feel cooler to me.

Drink lots of fluids (your choice...but I suggest chilled white wine).

Walk around nekkid. LOL.

Putting a fan in the window so it blows the hot air out and hopefully draws the cooler air from the lower regions of the dwelling, even if you are in an apartment.

Here's a link to info about swamp coolers - and even how to make a low-tech one in your home.

http://www.helium.com/items/1540379-...and-wet-towels

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Originally Posted by Catty1

Putting a fan in the window so it blows the hot air out and hopefully draws the cooler air from the lower regions of the dwelling, even if you are in an apartment.

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It's central air in a single family dwelling - all windows stay closed - otherwise you are totally defeating running it in the first place. Kinda like trying to keep things in the fridge cool with the door left open. :eek:

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Originally Posted by Cataholic

Draw all blinds/shades/shutters. Keep them closed. It serves dual purposes- keeps out the heat and keeps the house darker- which seems to feel cooler to me.

Drink lots of fluids (your choice...but I suggest chilled white wine).

Walk around nekkid. LOL.

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Yup - already do the blinds things. Naked - oh my - wouldn't want to scare the dogs!!! Now chilled white wine is doable......:D

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Originally Posted by boomersooner

I live near Dallas, so I feel your pain....will be 98 today, I think....We had to get a new AC unit three summers ago, and just paid it off!! They are very expensive!! Last summer, we found out our city would give a rebate if you got new insulation. We've lived in our house for 15 years, and we had not a clue if new insulation had ever been put in the attic or not...well, we did....it cost us $900 but we got a $300 dollar credit on our next utility bill. I think it has helped tremendously with the energy costs....We'll see for sure when I get my next bill because this has been a hotter summer than last. New insulation is a lot cheaper than a new AC unit....

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Same temps here - YUK!
Three years ago we put an addition on the house, and a new roof on the existing structure. I swear that the contractor hosed up on the insulation when he did the roof, since it seems to be worse since then. The addition is much cooler as it has it's own heat (cool) pump in that section.

We don't have A/C here, and it can get very hot during the day! Luckily, though, it's a dry heat which is much easier to tolerate. We have fans in the windows on at night to pull in the cool air (it usually hits between 55-65 for a nighttime low). I turn them off when I get up and draw the shades to keep out the hot sun. It works pretty well, actually, and is much cheaper than running A/C. We have a finished basement that we spend time in if it gets too hot outside, since it's always cooler downstairs.

You could try getting some fans, which always help you feel cooler. Also, why not rig up a clothes line and dry your clothes outside? I also find that limiting my activity during the hottest part of the day helps me stay cooler. Then, when it cools off in the evening it feels good to take a walk outside.

We do not use the AC, we have one window unit, but it rarely stays hot long enough to bother putting it in. Paul doesn't mind hot weather one bit - actually prefers it.

But we also do that works really well for us, given the position of the house, hills, trees, etc.

At night, when it's cooler outside, windows are open, and fans draw cool air in. In the morning, fans come out, windows are shot and blinds pulled down.

I also do not blow dry my hair when it gets so hot out - I figure any less heat added to the room has to be good, right? And air-drying ones hair does not use any electricity, either!

Also, laundry is only done late at night, when temps are coolest.

Karen - I would be dead without a.c.! :eek:

I use fans to move the air too - a couple of pedestal fans and some countertop size. Son and DIL have a ceiling fan in their bedroom and it actually keeps it chilly when combined with the cooled air, but the one in the family room decided to die.

Once the a.c. is on for the season, it is much more economical to leave it on since it will not have to work as hard to recool and dry out everything if you turn it off at night. And last night, the temp never went below 80. The only time we might turn it off during the summer, is if we have an extended spell of cooler and drier weather, like 3 or 4 days or more. Otherwise it stays on, but it will only run as needed.

I wish someone could get it through Bruce's head to leave the blinds closed!! Especially in our bedroom. It gets the afternoon sun beating through the slider. But he opens all the blinds when he gets up and then forgets to close them again later. :rolleyes:

Last year we got a whole house fan. We open doors and windows and turn this on and it pulls the cool air in from outside and pulls the hot air out through the attic. It works REALLY well as long as the temp outside is cooler than inside. So we do not have to use the AC as much. I'm not sure how it has affected the electricity bill, since I do not see it. :)

So far we have not had super hot temps consistently. Today it is in the upper 70's. PERFECT!!! But I'm sure we will get up into the hundreds soon enough.

Stay cool everyone! :D

We couldn't survive without a/c either. But the weather is so ever changing here that we go from a/c to heat. Today is a bit cooler so the a/c hasn't run, but it's 73 in the house so I'm sure it will run any minute. If it cools to 69 during the night I turn the furnace on so it doesn't get cooler than that. No sun today so the blinds are up but when the sun is out everything is closed because we have a lot of huge windows and the house becomes an oven in no time. If it's cool enough I leave the walldoors open from the utility room to the deck and I open all the windows to make a breeze. Been very humid all week so I've kept the furnace on to keep that humidity out. Hopefully by tomorrow the sun will be back and we can turn off the heat fior the weekend, seems so winter like when that furnace is running.
I don't use the oven either, defeats the purpose of the a/c. We bbq most of our food if it's hot foods, lately we've had a lot of salads.

It's 105 right now, I'd be toast without the A/C. Not to mention it would kill my snakes. Ugh, Jasper's class this morning was a sweaty mess.

There is no way I could survive without AC.....it is humid here...I really don't know how I grew up with only a window unit....Good luck to everyone who is hot today!!!!

I put my window unit in my living room since me and the fur crew spend the majority of our time there. My cats get mad when they don't have an open window to sit in, so I leave my bedroom window open and the door to my bedroom open just a crack, enough for them to get in and out, and for me to check on Phoenix in her carrier.

At night, I shut the air off and just have a fan blowing on me. Not great, but when you sleep in your underwear, it'll do.

In Florida, our AC units pretty much run constantly. I turn mine up to 78-80 and run fans in each room. It stays fairly cool. I also have to use a cool, damp washcloth to help end the hot flashes.:rolleyes: Really cools me off right away.

We never use the oven during the summer. Only microwave and cold stuff. Alot of people here turn their AC way up and go somewhere cool for the day. i.e. window shopping at the mall, grocery store. movie theater. Wherever there is AC and it doesn't cost a fortune. We drink cold drinks all the time. Alot of ice water or iced tea.
Basically, most of us sweat alot too I think. What else can we do? We're also fortunate to have swimming pools all over the place to cool ourselves off. Anything we can think of to make it through the summer down here.:eek: :eek: :eek:

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Originally Posted by Daisy and Delilah

In Florida, our AC units pretty much run constantly. I turn mine up to 78-80 and run fans in each room. It stays fairly cool. I also have to use a cool, damp washcloth to help end the hot flashes.:rolleyes: Really cools me off right away.

We never use the oven during the summer. Only microwave and cold stuff. Alot of people here turn their AC way up and go somewhere cool for the day. i.e. window shopping at the mall, grocery store. movie theater. Wherever there is AC and it doesn't cost a fortune. We drink cold drinks all the time. Alot of ice water or iced tea.
Basically, most of us sweat alot too I think. What else can we do? We're also fortunate to have swimming pools all over the place to cool ourselves off. Anything we can think of to make it through the summer down here.:eek: :eek: :eek:

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I don't know how you do it on a year round basis Terry. I visited my brother several times when he was still living in FL (Pembroke Pines). and it was too unbearable for the most part to even leave the house. Sit outside for a little bit in the very early a.m., other than that - from the a.c. house- to the a.c. vehicle - to go to the a.c. malls, etc. BLAH!!! :p

That's how we do it, Ellie. Can't get to the car quick enough or back into the house quick enough.
Not only the heat but we have the terrible humidity. It's just miserable.
We wear the least amount of clothing we can get away with too. Some of the sights we see. Oh Boy!!

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Originally Posted by Daisy and Delilah

That's how we do it, Ellie. Can't get to the car quick enough or back into the house quick enough.
Not only the heat but we have the terrible humidity. It's just miserable.
We wear the least amount of clothing we can get away with too. Some of the sights we see. Oh Boy!!

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I can tolerate the heat to some degree, but throw in that humidity, and I'm done for. We are right on the ocean too, so we get it bad here. Today was awful, and it's still miserable outside now. Didn't get any storms to cool things off a bit......:( This too shall pass - eventually...:D

My living room has very high ceiling which is nice because the hot air stays up there. I do however block certain rooms. I use a spring/tension pole with a sheet hung over it, across the doorway of the bedroom. I only open the vent in there to let in the AC. Kitchen, bathroom (always closed door...well cracked open for kitty box access:rolleyes:) and living room are hotter than heck but I spend my time in the bedroom watching TV or eating dinner or reading. Thank God for the huge trees that block me from direct sunlight (satelite TV too but you gotta pick you battles:rolleyes:) I keep moist washclothes in the fridge to wipe my neck and forehead. I have longish hair so a hair clip to keep my hair off my neck is essential. :D
Claudia

Being a costume character, I deal with the worst heat imaginable. On break, I put my bandana (used to keep sweat out of my eyes) in the fridge and when I go back out just put it back on and it feels sooo nice. :D Personally, I can handle the heat well or else I wouldn't have the job I do. When I'm home I have the vent wide open and the fan on. My house is pretty cold since my mom loves A/C and so does Mikey.

AC how I love the AC. 62* is perfect for me. 80* and above is just hell.
I don't care what the cost is I just have to be cool. I keep it around 60 in the winter which saves the money I spend on AC in the summer.
Hubby is a freeze baby. He lies in bed with a sheet, two blankets and I only use the sheet. All night the fan is on high.
The cats love the fan and all three boys are on the bed having a nice snooze with us.

I remember when I lived on the east coast and the horrible humidity that we'd get but I was much younger then and I could deal with it much better. We'd go to the community pool pretty much every day during the summer so this is how I stayed cool. My parents didn't believe in keeping the house very cool but I just got used to it so it didn't really bother me.

Now that I live in CA., I don't have A/C where I live but even if I did have it I wouldn't need it very often. I get the morning sun so if it's still cool enough in the mornings I open up my bedroom window and the sliding glass door to let in some cool air. I close everything up on hot days before I leave with the drapes and shades closed.

If it's going to be a very hot day, then I leave the ceiling fan on in the dining room and I'll also set up a tower fan in my bedroom and one in the living room so the cats will stay cool during the day. At night is usually cools down so I open up again when I get home. I do have 2 pools that I can use in my condo complex if I'm extremely hot too.

I rarely use my oven or electic cook top thought out the year and I especially don't use it on hot days. When I do cook, I usually microwave. I also drink plenty of cold water and cold diet soft drinks. I'm so glad that we don't have very much humidity. I couldn't handle it these days.

Yippee - a little break today. Humidity will be lower and temp only around 90, but the nasties with the higher temps and high humidity coming back tomorrow! I hate it when I take the dogs out for a potty break, and when I walk outside, it feels like someone threw a steaming hot wet blanket at me! I was looking at some pics yesterday of our mountains of snow that we had last winter - and almost wished for some. I'd like a happy medium, but live in the wrong part of the country for that.
Just about 30 miles north of us, they got terrible destructive storms yesterday - some places looked like a war zone. We didn't get so much as a cooling drop of rain! Areas up around Philly and parts of south Jersey got hit hard too - same as they had in CT.
I have some cooling bandannas that I use that are quite effective too. They are filled with some kind of material that expands into a gel and gets cool when soaked in water. I activate them and keep them in the fridge, so I always have one when I need it. I wrap it around my neck, which I find cools me better than using it on my head. They stay cool for a good long time, and when it loses it's cool :D, just re-wet it and pop it back in the fridge and get out another.
It was so miserable, that the birds were using my outside kitty Sherbie's water bowl on the back porch for a pool. Must have been more like a hot tub tho, since the sun heats it up in no time. I have to change the water several times a day since it gets so hot! We used to have several big trees that blocked the direct sun from beating on the back of the house all day, but they had to come down when we did the addition. I'm sure that has a lot to do with the a.c. feeling less efficient too, since the roof is getting extra hot and the outside compressor unit gets the sun on it all day now.
But I'll survive. Heck - I've made it this far - so what's another hot summer???? :p

Got up to fantastic sunshine this morning so I was celebrating. An hour later the sky turned dark and you could feel the humidity climbing so I turned the furnace on to 73 to get the chill out. Now it's still cloudy but turning a bit cooler so the humidity is lifting. By suppertime I'm sure the temps will have climbed back up and the sun will be turning the house into an oven so back to the a/c. I hope this settles for the wekend, a nice sunny one with no humidity. Only 10 degrees this morning, another weird summer I think. By supper it could hit 30....life is a puzzle out here.