Keeping it cooler

[Karen]

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.

[pomtzu]

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

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.

[Taz_Zoee]

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.

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!

[Asiel]

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.

[snakemama]

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.

[boomersooner]

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!!!!

[moosmom]

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.

[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. 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.