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Tips for Keeping Cool

We see extreme heat every year, but already, in June, it seems that record heat has touched several parts of our country, causing stress and sparking wildfires. In any degree of heat, it would REALLY be nice to have:
 
A swimming pool
                    A big shade tree
                                          An ice cold drink

But…if you don’t have any of these things, you need some options! Here are a few ways to reduce heat, conserve energy and keep cool in your home this summer:
 
Portable evaporative cooler (aka swamp cooler). Since this cooler is on wheels, it can follow you around your patio or garage, wherever you like to work on your outdoor projects, and is great for outdoor parties and gatherings. It is perfect in dry weather, but once it becomes humid, it is no longer effective.
 
Homemade air coolers. If your home is not air conditioned, you can hang a damp cloth or sheet in front of an open window to create your own cooler on those particularly hot days. The evaporating water cools the incoming breeze. This is a well-known trick of desert dwellers that goes way back. As above, it is only effective in dry climates. Another “old” cooling remedy is to set a shallow bowl of ice in front of a fan. As it melts, it evaporates, and cools the room.

Run your air conditioner at a higher temperature or lower power, and keep your ceiling fans running. The air conditioner removes humidity from the air, while the fan evaporates sweat and moves your body heat away.
 
Check your dampers. Hopefully, if you have a fireplace, you DO remember to close the damper at the end of the winter. You don’t want flow reversal, which is when the chimney with an open damper draws hot air down into the house. Not good.
 
Set your computer to go into sleep mode when you are away for 10 minutes or longer, and it will give off less heat. There is no longer any reason not to shut off your computer for the night. Your automatic updates and scans can be set for other times of day when your computer is not in use.

Here’s a “cool” gadget…a personal fan with a flexible neck that plugs into a USB port on your laptop! If you Google ‘Kensington FlyFan’, you can find this one and similar fans online from a few merchants, ranging in price from $10-40.
 
This is a favorite: Shut ‘er down! Try NOT to use your oven in the summer months. Use only your microwave, stovetop and barbecue for cooking. Don’t use the drying cycle on your dishwasher, just open the door to air dry your dishes…and give your dryer a break by hanging your clothes to dry, if you have a line to hang them on. Remember, it is best to run your dishwasher at night when the air is cooler. Of course, elbow grease is still in vogue–you can always wash dishes by hand!

Block the sun. As mentioned in other issues, black-out or room-darkening curtains and blinds cut the heat and light significantly. You want to be sure that the liner facing the window is made of a white, sun-deflecting fabric for best results.