Yesterday, I talked a little about A/C - using it, but using it in such a way that it doesn't break the bank. I thought now would be a good time to talk about other ways to keep cool. Some are common sense (don't use your oven!) while others aren't so common (swamp coolers!).
Make your own swamp or evaporative cooler -
1) Simply hang a wet towel over a fan so that it hangs into a pan of cold water.
2)Fill 2 liter bottles with water and freeze. When frozen, place in front of fan in a pan that will hold drips. Just be sure to keep extra bottles frozen to replace the defrosted ones!
Run heat producing appliances early in the morning or late at night - Clothes dryers and dishwashers produce a lot of heat. Run them when the temperature is cooler outside instead of at the peak time for heat.
Switch to compact fluorescent bulbs - According to General Electric, incandescent bulbs emit 90% of their energy in the form of heat, while compact fluorescent emit only 30%.
Learn to cook without the oven - Appliances like crockpots (slowcookers), microwaves, indoor electric grills and even your outdoor grill are better choices.
Use your oven one day a week - If you must use your oven, limit its use to once a week. On your baking day you can make enough to get you through until your next baking day.
Keep your curtains closed - The heavier the curtain, the better.
Ceiling fans - If you don't have them, get them. I have found them at yard sales, thrift stores or even new for as low as $15. If you do have them, make sure they are blowing the air the right way!
What are some of your favorite ways to keep cool?
5 comments:
Oh, these are great! Also, put your crockpot outside to cook in the summer, it does add a lot of heat to your house. Remember, Ceiling fans only make a human (or pet) feel cooler, it doesn't actually cool anything, so if you leave the room turn it off (saves money).
Krista, you should do another one for keeping cool during power failures. I'm always thinking about what I would do if we lost power in the summer. One thing is sleeping with a damp sheet on, it will keep you cool!
Great topic!
Melissa
Good point about the crockpot and turning the fan off!
I will have to think about ways to stay cool in a power failure. I am pretty sure we would die. lol In Detroit when we lost power for one night because of the big blackout was bad enough... could u imagine in this humidity?! lol
go nakie?
;-)
Bwahaha! I will tell the boys you said so!
You'll think I'm crazy, but I scavenge large pieces of cardboard when neighbors get new appliances. I cut them to fit the windows and cover them with aluminum foil taped on to one side - shiny side out of course. I put these in the windows to repel the sunlight and close the mini-blinds over them so I am not looking at cardboard all day. It is very effective for keeping the house cool. I also tape foil onto some of my single panel casement windows. The foil covered cardboard gets stored in closets or under a bed in each room during the winter, spring and fall and is easy to reinstall when the weather heats up. Cheap, easy, effective.
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