Tips for cooling off this summer
With summer here, there are many ways to keep the temperature tolerable while saving money and the environment.
AH, RELIEF: Portable fans can help move your body heat away from you. (Photo: Jupiterimages) 
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I'm not sure where you get your information but you have several areas of misinformation on your web site. First, anything you are heating is more efficient with natural gas than electric as long as the equipment is comparable. Electric heat strips used in Heat Pumps are one of the least efficient ways to heat. Natural gas is projected to stay at low cost for the next ten years. Second, replacing windows rarely will payback by energy savings in a decent time frame. Windows at their best are.... More
Close the chimney to keep cool air from rising out of the house? That is nonsense. Cool air does not rise, hot air does. Simple physics.
A radiant barrier in the attic is another cheap way to cool a house. All this entails is doing an internet search for the material...is a kraft paper roll with aluminium foil on one side (that faces up when installing). Simply staple this (using a staple gun) to your rafters or simply lay across the floor. If you can use a stapler, you can do this yourself, easily.
It does keep my two story house much cooler. Do the same with your garage and if your garage door faces south, do the.... More
Sleep outside on a screened sleeping deck, upstairs is best (gets you in the breeze better)
Make yourself a 'cool tub' (a round galvanized stock tank works nicely (5 or 6 feet across, 2 feet deep. make a cover for it to keep out the light and insects, could be a tarp, I made one out of half inch plywood and painted it)
Drink really cold drinks like frozen margaritas (you could just use lemonade if you're a t totaler.)
Make home made Popsicles.
Use lots of fans, they.... More
make sure and keep filters clean and in place so you get all you pay for from the A/C. I work in a controlled environment that stays about 70-74 degsF. It is tough to leave and try to go to bed when it's 80 in the house.
It's not high tech, but it works and is cheap. Electricity is expensive in Nevada. I paid $400/month last summer to keep our home at 72. This month, my bill was $128. Yes, our home is warmer. When its 105 outside, I can only keep the house at 78. Not only is the savings significiant, but the humidity is a bonus. When you live in an area than can have 0% humidity, the moist air from the evaporative cooler is a blessing.
Um... really? Electric prices are more stable than gas? (But, are they lower in your area?)
Replace a gas range? Why?
They actually do NOT all have pilot lights. If they do have pilot lights, then a change will eliminate a possible source of indoor carbon monoxide and extra heat.
Definitely only touching the top of the cake with these tips, but a great way to start off the summer for sure! Plus, once you do these things enough times they become habit instead of a pain :)
Nearly all these tips are for homeowners. They're useless to someone like me, who lives on the top floor of a rental tenement. As for organic cotton clothing, cotton isn't cool. If you want to stay cool in summer, and warm in winter, wear knitted silk. Yes, I know it's not vegan, so not everyone will wear it, but it's much better at wicking moisture away from the body than cotton.
Some good ideas in here! http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/responsible-living/stories/20-ways-for-rent...
Would like to highlight attic ventilation, especially with a Solar Attic fan, but please have it professionally installed with a leak guarantee. Also a reflective roof coating where it is applicable. And one of the cheapest ways of cooling is having the doors open with screen doors installed. Small window fans help with air movement but will increase the electric bill.
I can remember when we got our first A/C. The days before the A/C, we used box fans, window fans and about anything else that would move the 98+ deg.F air around. Didn't know what we were missing and now can't seem to live without it. There were times living in a single wide trailer that were unbearable without A/C but we made it just the same. Many people are not what they used to be in many places.
I purchased cellular shades because we live in New England and spend a lot on heat during fall, winter & spring. I was so pleased to find they worked just as well in the summer to keep the heat out! I only used my AC one day last year. My experience with CellularWindowShades.com was excellent and they are high quality!
I meant to say, most vinyl windows off gas rather than NO vinyl windows off gas.
No vinyl windows off gas. Old wood ones don't. Trashing old painted windows generates lead dust when you remove them if your house is older than 1978. Reglazed and weatherstripped old windows especially with wooden storm windows can be as efficient as new ones. Consider the waste fill of old windows. Now that's not green. If you end up deciding to do so, donate them to Habitat for Humanity or a Recycle/Rebuild facility.
Just had my windows redone, house is 90 years old, no lead paint. The argon gas filled double pane windows are substantially more efficient than the ones I replaced. I don't think you have any idea what you're talking about....
Well most of these suggestions are useless to me. I don't have an air conditioner nor a pilot light nor a dish washer, thermostat, fireplace,, clothes dryer,
If you live in a dry-heat environment consider evaporative air conditioning as it is much less energy intensive than the usual refrigerated models (which are excellent for humid heat) and they can be very effective. They are very popular in Australia for instance.
Also, pay close attention to the outside temps. When they drop below the indoor temp, don't be afraid to open your windows a bit even if the aircon is on as it will help the appliance by letting some of the heat out. This is,.... More
All grammar aside, I'd like to see MNN investigate the gas appliances vs. electric appliances issue. Perhaps another post would be good. I've found gas appliances to be more energy efficient than electric, even with a pilot light and the potential price changes for natural gas.
I must agree with the window advice. In our old Victorian home, window replacement was worth every penny. We bought custom windows for our old Victorian home, and the insulation value is tremendous all year. .... More
Dry ice works well as a cool media.
Take anti-freeze in a bucket, add the dry ice, place inside a milk crate, and put a box fan on top of the milk crate blowing down. The Carbon Dioxide won't have time to build up to harmful levels, and your house will stay cooler.
I live in Bangkok, Thailand where is is hot and humid every day. The Thai people think that I am crazy because I use a portable fan even when I open my AC. But there is a method to my madness. First of all the trick to staying cool is air movement. And the fan in your AC is not designed to move air efficiently. It is much too small. So I use a fan to move the air in my apartment. As a consequence I never ever set my A|C lower than 28 degrees Centigrade. The AC does its job by taking the.... More
Please concentrate and comment on the subject and stop insulting people who have a diferent oppinion as your's. That's democracy
I thought this was about cooling down in the summer, not grammar lessons...
You shouldn't go around calling people idiots. We try to keep our home as cool as possible but we cant afford a high monthly bill. I'd love to keep my house at 76 but we keep it at 85. We also use fans. You get used to it and its actually not that bad unless you've been at the mall where the air is freezing! We also have a baby and it's not healthy to keep the house too cold or too hot. Everyone's body temp is different and some people can deal with a little hotter weather than others but it.... More
In the summer. I put window tent on all windows, on the west side of my house. This helps alot.Then in the Fall take it off. Roll it up, for next year. put away. It doesn't cost much money to do this. .... I have a window unit. and it is in the wall on the west side. What can I do to shade it, without costing much?
You could try installing an awning above the window unit. We live in East-Cental Alabama where it stays hot and humid during the Summer. A couple of year ago, we put awnings on all of the windows...could not believe how much that helped.
To Jamie:
In addition, you misquote your quote. It should have a quotation mark and an ellipsis after "You're...." and also before "You" in "You are an idiot." The "or" in the sentence should not be within the quotation marks because it is NOT part of the quote.
Get it?
ive noticed when i take a hotter shower in the hot months, (i know, sounds icky) my body produces less heat and im cooler the rest of the day. i work in retail and everyone else has a fan running. when i take a colder shower, i need that fan on. just something to consider.
I have done most of these things on the list, but i will not set the temp at 78. I like it between 68-70. I work hard for a living and don't mind paying the extra to stay cool. If you think about it most people have their house at this temp in the winter & it's ok. So that's my year around temp. Just adding my two cents:-)
I love this, it is so cool, and speaking of cool, yeah, it is cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I did plant quick growing deciduous trees/bamboo on the west side of my home and they were really taking off especially the one that was unknowingly planted over my sewer line. This hybrid poplar grew over 20 feet in less than 18 months but obviously I had to get rid of it or risk the roots getting into the sewer line. So warning..before planting fast growing deciduous trees notorious for invasive roots check and make sure your familiar with the septic/sewer lines. I don't know what a safe.... More
When I have an oven on or the air conditioner just isn't working for the hot and cranky kids. I will turn a fan on with a bowl of ice in front of it and the kids feel cool as cucumbers.
You are one of the people that are like my buddy who is half mexican and can be comfortable in 80 degree weather even sleeping under covers.... I will tell you this, even when the humidity is low and its cool outside I still have to have the air on 72 degrees so that its even nice to be under cover and not sweating to death... If you are cold natured then you are on coumadin or a blood thinner or just getting old with thin blood and this isn't natural and it should concern you!!! You can put.... More
Jamie, not everyone who is cold natured are old or on blood thinners. My children are 1 and 2 and are cold natured. Explain that one to me. I don't give them aspirin because it's a blood thinner. They're certainly not old. Another thing, keeping the air set higher lowers the electric bill. Yes, I'm a little warmer than I would like to be but I can at least afford to pay my light bill, even on a limited income. Get over yourself. Some people have different temperature tolerance than others do..... More
You're*
Try "You're or You are an idiot" You look like an idiot that doesn't know proper grammer
To Jamie: "People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones".
1. "an idiot THAT doesn't ...." The correct relative pronoun is 'who' since you are speaking about a human being who is an idiot. Also, 'who' is preferable because "know" is only an action that a human can take.
2. GrammER should be grammAR.
You're living in a glass house.
It would be "you're an idiot." Haha, you idiot! :)
You made my day :)
I built a home in 2006 and installed geothermal heating/cooling. WOW, was that ever the right thing to do! It's GREEN, quiet, and my monthly bills are quite low year round! I don't have a noisy outdoor unit that needs to be shaded from the sun or protected from damage.
I also used foam insulation in addition to fiberglass batting. When it's windy outdoors, I can't even tell. It provides quiet and more savings every month in my heating and cooling bills.
Why have a jacuzzi or.... More
Hello Geothermal. Who does this geothermal installation? can this system be installed in an older home? Thanks.
I own my family homestead (140 yrs old) & my parents installed geothermal back in the mid 90's. It works quite well in an older home. To make it more efficient, be sure to upgrade your insulation & check for draft areas.
Many larger towns have geothermal installers listed in the phone book. You can also look online to see if there is one near you. I'm thrilled my parents did this & I think you could enjoy it as well.
