10 ways to keep cool at home without AC

Contributor: Jul!a Jul!a
With a good chunk of the country in a giant heat wave right now, a lot of people are trying to find good ways to beat the heat. Not everybody has air conditioning and not everybody can afford to run it even with it being so hot out. So here are some tips for how you can try and keep cool at home without the AC on.
07/22/2011
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Contributor: dv8 dv8
Putting a bowl of ice next to a fan does work but making more ice will be less energy efficient than using an air conditioner.
07/22/2011
Contributor: Illusional Illusional
Quote:
Originally posted by dv8
Putting a bowl of ice next to a fan does work but making more ice will be less energy efficient than using an air conditioner.
I have never thought of that idea before.
07/22/2011
Contributor: Jul!a Jul!a
Quote:
Originally posted by dv8
Putting a bowl of ice next to a fan does work but making more ice will be less energy efficient than using an air conditioner.
I never thought of it that way, but I've also never tried it. So then the frozen milk jug is a much better idea because it can be refrozen over and over again?
07/22/2011
Contributor: dv8 dv8
Quote:
Originally posted by Jul!a
I never thought of it that way, but I've also never tried it. So then the frozen milk jug is a much better idea because it can be refrozen over and over again?
Freezing something over and over isn't as efficient as using an air conditioner. If you're using that method repeatedly during a heat wave, you'll actually end up heating your house rather than cooling it. A refrigerator cools its content by exchanging heat with the radiator coils on its back; this process requires work so the fridge will generate some extra heat to do it. All the heat you take away from the water to turn it into ice gets dissipated in your kitchen. Most air conditioners, on the other hand, dissipate the heat outdoors.

If you happen to have a milk jug already frozen from some time when you didn't need cooling, then go ahead and use it. If you're using a bowl of ice, keep in mind that all that ice adds to your indoor humidity; that can be a good thing if you're in a dry climate but an air conditioner would reduce your humidity.
07/22/2011
Contributor: Sammi Sammi
Summer is when I love having a basement - it's always at least 10 degrees cooler.
07/22/2011
Contributor: Chilipepper Chilipepper
Something discovered by people who live along the Intercoastal Waterway on the east coast of Florida - build houses with cross-ventilation capabilities. The breeze coming off the river combined with large shade trees drops the air temperature by ten-to-fifteen degrees.

These houses, of course, are hardly ever on the market and are in the seven-digit range when they are for sale.

Check to see if your dwelling can be cross-ventilated. (My house in the middle of the island is not.)
07/22/2011
Contributor: Adriana Ravenlust Adriana Ravenlust
Quote:
Originally posted by dv8
Putting a bowl of ice next to a fan does work but making more ice will be less energy efficient than using an air conditioner.
Right but if you don't have an AC to speak of, energy efficiency doesn't matter d=
07/22/2011
Contributor: GravyCakes GravyCakes
my AC is out right now & i live in south georgia. i don't have an extra fan to put a bowl of ice in front of, so i take the ice pop popsicles that i have in the freezer, lay them out on the couch, & lay on them, lol. i also put a damp shirt in the freezer for a while, then put it on. im going to the front office in the morning to let them know they need to fix my damn AC. it was almost 100 degrees today.
07/22/2011
Contributor: Pinkhare Pinkhare
Taking a cool shower before bed and keeping your feet uncovered helps you sleep when it's hot .
07/22/2011
Contributor: dv8 dv8
Quote:
Originally posted by Adriana Ravenlust
Right but if you don't have an AC to speak of, energy efficiency doesn't matter d=
You can use the ice to cool a bedroom at the expense of heating your kitchen. If you plan to use ice to cool your entire house, that won't work.
07/23/2011
Contributor: Rossie Rossie
Freeze a gel ice pack, wrap it in a light towel, secure it on the nape of your neck. It'll cool your whole body down almost instantly!
07/25/2011
Contributor: Wicked Wahine Wicked Wahine
Woman China said they sleep with a damp sheet! Combine it with a fan & it should help!
05/29/2013
Contributor: ViVix ViVix
Quote:
Originally posted by GravyCakes
my AC is out right now & i live in south georgia. i don't have an extra fan to put a bowl of ice in front of, so i take the ice pop popsicles that i have in the freezer, lay them out on the couch, & lay on them, lol. i also put a damp ... more
Wow! I just got my AC unit fixed, and I was furious because it was like 85 degrees!
05/29/2013
Contributor: SourAppleMartini SourAppleMartini
Quote:
Originally posted by dv8
Putting a bowl of ice next to a fan does work but making more ice will be less energy efficient than using an air conditioner.
I've tried it before when my AC was broken and felt no cooling whatsoever.
05/29/2013
Contributor: ICEE ICEE
we put one fan in a window blowing out and then we put one in a different window pulling air in from outside. the windows that we use are almost across from each other so it would be like cross ventilation...or just run around naked, cool bath
05/29/2013
Contributor: Mr. John Mr. John
In the tropics, not many people use air conditioners. What they rely on is cross ventilation, and overhead paddle fans. It works quite nicely.
05/29/2013