Monday, June 11, 2007

52 Weeks Down - Week 7 - Cool Down

It is easy for me, here in breezy upstate NY, to propose that people cut back on their air conditioning, of course. We don't have it - we have maybe a half dozen days above 90 degrees every year, and even during hot periods, it only rarely stays over 70 at night. When people mention that they've had a two weeks over 100, with night-time lows of 80, well, again, it is easy for me to say. But remember, you can laugh at me in January when you are wearing sweaters and picking kale and the temps are -15 with 3 feet of snow here. Trust me, when the time comes, we'll be talking about heat too.

But at a minimum, now is a good time to think about ways of minimizing your use of cooling technologies. I'm sure there are plenty of you out there who are more expert than I at this by necessity, but here are some suggestions. The first is to minimize a/c use - use fans whenever possible, get good air circulation going, open windows at night to cool things off and close them during once things warm up to keep the coolth in, pull down shades to reflect light. You can consider an attic fan (they make solar models too, get wet (take a quick shower, or visit a public pool, lake or ocean, or just sit with your feet in a pan of cool water - works miracles), keep hydrated, and above all adapt. The simple fact is that we react most strongly to heat when our bodies encounter temperatures for the first time - or think they do. That is, after a day in an air conditioned office, an 85 degree evening feels unpleasantly hot, while a day spent getting accustomed, adapting and dealing with the temps might be one on which you notice a real cool down when things drop from 90 to 85.

If you are considering investing in a/c, the money might be better spent adding insulation. If you are building a house, consider thermal mass to keep things cool. Or perhaps you can spend your summers in your basement. If the problem is heat at night, the classic solution is to sleep outside - consider setting up a screen house or a tent, and spending your nights out during the worst weather. I've heard good things about the "Chillow" as well, a pillow with an interior cooling device to keep it cool. I don't think they are safe for kids, though.

You can cook outside as well - consider an outdoor oven, or even building a summer kitchen, so you can dissipate the heat into the outdoors. Solar ovens are a logical solution to avoiding heating up the house, and turning off your computer, changing over to CFLs, and unplugging a lot of your electronics will cut the ambient heat in your home from electric devices.

Those in very dry climates might well do well with a swamp cooler, but they don't work well in humid places. But many hot, wet, poor places, where a/c is an unaffordable luxury handle the issue by showering or using water. In Vietnam, "have you showered" is as frequently asked as "have you eaten" and often the "shower" is simply a bucket or a tin can with holes punched in it - but it is remarkably refreshing. The water can be retained and used for irrigation on non-food plants later.

If you do need a/c, keep it up as high as you can tolerate - 80 should be enough to keep everyone from heat stroke, and don't use it if the day is cool enough to tolerate, or when you aren't home. Or perhaps you could get away with using public a/c on the worst days - really hot days are a good time to head to the library. If you can avoid using private a/c late in the day, you may cut the risk of local brown and black outs, which tend to happen at the end of very hot work days, when businesses aren't shut down yet and people go home and flick on the a/c.

The most vulnerable people to heat stroke are very young children and the elderly. But even they can often manage without air conditioning if they have enough care and attention. For example, many elderly people simply feel cold even when it is hot - but their bodies know otherwise, and react normally. My husband's grandfather wanted to wear heavy sweaters on 90 degree days, and it really took a lot of attention to ensure that he was kept hydrated, coolly dressed and comfortable. Remember, water can substitute for a/c in many cases (and for those in dry climates, the water you use to cool your body may well be less than the demand for water created by power companies) - consider putting children in a small pool (under supervision, or helping an elderly person sit with their feet in the water or a wet bandana on the back of their necks. Make sure you visit and get to know your elderly neighbors - you could keep them alive in a heat wave.

Ultimately, there are times and places where some cooling is necessary - and in a warming world, that's likely to remain true for a while. But the irony is that as we deal with our personal comfort, we make the world more toxic and hotter for others, so we need to, as much as possible, cut back on our cooling energy use.

Sharon

8 comments:

Jana said...

We used to go on a vacation every June the week after Father's Day. It was always my goal to make it until we got home from that to get the AC humming. We are hoping to install a whole house fan this summer and then hopefully we can extend until Forth of July. If we can cut our AC use down to 8-10 weeks I will be pretty happy. It is hot and humid here in the summer!

Sarah said...

That tip on putting your feet in the cool water is great and really effective way to stay cool. It seems whatever temp. your feet are, the rest of your body kinda follows suit. We use the same trick in the winter by doubling up on socks and making sure to wear slippers...especially on our cold wood floor!

Anonymous said...

We usually have 1-2 weeks of over-100F each year, and lots and lots of days in the 90s. "But," as they say, "it's a dry heat." The real blessing of our high-desert climate is that it nearly always cools down at night -- only on the hottest of hot nights does it stay above 55F. We have no A/C, just a window fan and a desk fan, that we use together to blow heat out of the house and let cool outside evening air in.

My favorite stay-cool technique is to wear a lightweight long-sleeved button-down shirt over a T shirt or tank top. Then, as needed throughout the day, I take off the long-sleeved shirt, soak it in cool water, and put it back on. Even on the 100+ days that cooling effect lasts for an hour or more! Do that with a floppy hat as well, as you might end up feeling downright comfortable in triple digits...

Anonymous said...

shades work best hanging outside of the window, you want to reflect the light and heat before it even enters your house. Solar shades are even better. Or plant a decidous vine, trees on the west side of your house.

Also, don't forget to turn off desks fans, overhead fans when you leave the room. otherwise they are wasting energy by moving air around with no one to evaporatively cool.

And for goodness sake...dont paint your house a dark color or install a black roof...white, pale colors reflect heat.

Anonymous said...

I used to work as a fry cook in Maryland, where it is hot and humid. We would take hand-towels and put in a line of ice, roll them up and rubber band the ends. Draping this around our necks kept us cool even when working over 350 degree grills and fryers, even when it was over 100 degrees - outside the kitchen.

Anonymous said...

There is an old New England trick, that works as long as you have cool nights. Once the sun is down, open the windows; the shut up the house to keep the cool in.

Sadly, doesn't work in cities where the temp. doesn't really drop over night

MEA

feonixrift said...

Drinking iced tea, especially herbal tea with a lot of Vitamin C can make the heat a lot easier to tolerate. So can wearing a hat, and light colored long clothing. If you're planning your yard, don't underestimate how much of a difference a tree can make. They don't just block the sun, they also evaporatively cool the air around them.

Unknown said...

Your blog is so excellent that I like it very much, you must be good at writing.

Asus - 15.6" Laptop - 4GB Memory - 500GB Hard Drive - IMR Matte Dark Brown Suit (K53E-BBR21)

Asus - 15.6" Laptop - 4GB Memory - 500GB Hard Drive - IMR Matte Dark Brown Suit (K53E-BBR19)