How to Stay Cool-Part 2: Tips to Avoid the A/C, Save Energy & Beat the Heat

Here’s how it’s done:

• -Use a ceiling fan as well as standing fans: Position your fans to push the heat collected in your home outdoors. Locate standing fans around the house to get cool air flowing; have a fan blowing in one window, and another fan blowing out the other. Make sure to move fans as the sun moves in order to ensure a constant flow of air.

*Note: A fan does not cool the air already in the room, it just feels cooler when you are present because of moisture evaporating off your skin, so make sure you shut fans off when you leave the room to save energy.

• Hang dry clothing inside your house: The evaporation will help cool your house.  As moisture evaporates, the water in the air will cool the house. Instead of drying laundry outside, drape damp items over the furniture and beds in your house to dry.
• Make a DIY air conditioner: For instruction on how, see this DIY air conditioner.
• Turn off all heat sources: Try to avoid using the stove or oven to eat on very warm days. Switching  to compact fluorescent light bulbs can also help, as incandescent bulbs create heat. Turn off your lamps, television and computer when they are not in use.
• Avoid steam: During the heat of the day, try to avoid taking a hot shower during the day, wash dishes and clothes or cooking hot meals over the stove which will only add heat to your home.
• Change door and window openings as the day goes on: This will keep the coolest air from outside flowing through your home.
• Open the windows at night (but close them as soon as the sun is up): By opening selective windows and doors, cooler night air will blow into your house throughout the evening. If you leave them closed, your house will store the daytime heat and won't cool off as much at night.
• Put smooth, light-colored fabrics over anything in your house that's fuzzy: Light-colored fabric reflects heat instead of absorbing it, and the smooth texture will make your furniture or pillows feel cooler.

Keep checking in the community over the next few weeks for new posts in this series. By the end you will be an expert at keeping cool and comfortable without an air conditioner, all while saving money and our planet.

If you have any other tips on how to stay cool without the A/C, leave us a comment and let us know.

Part One of our Series on Staying Cool in the Summer

Part Three of our Series on Staying Cool in the Summer

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