What is Digg?194 Comments
- theblueprint, on 10/11/2007, -4/+129Missing tip: Strip down to your underwear. Works for me.
- lieutenantmudd, on 10/11/2007, -2/+79My hints from living on the equator without air conditioning or even electric fans
1. constant cold showers, i showered 5 times a day
2. sleep on your porch
3. try not to move at all from 12-3
4. take naps on concrete floors - mookiemookie, on 10/11/2007, -12/+87"Don't tell me you can't live without air conditioning, because others can. :)"
I live in South Texas and have a ***** insulated apartment. There's reports of the poor, sick and elderly dying all the time in the summer around here because they can't afford to keep the air conditioning on. You want to rethink that statement? - mannaran, on 10/11/2007, -1/+52In Southern India, temperature usually go around 30C-40C in summer and most of the places near sea shores are humid! Most of us cannot afford AC, and of course, we use the techniques used in this post!
If you cannot afford AC, and it its too hot.. Go to a movie theatre, go for window shopping in Air Controlled mall.!
What I do is, go to office, and read Digg!! :) - FyreGoddess, on 10/11/2007, -3/+29Why worry about underwear? I mean, all your shades are drawn anyway...
- ps3udov3ctor, on 10/11/2007, -1/+24cold shower, don't towel dry instead stand in front of a fan (or under a ceiling fan) naked. if the air is dry enough, it'll cool you down quick and you'll feel good for an hour or two.
- Dumbledorito, on 10/11/2007, -0/+22We've found that installing an outdoor clothes line not only prevents your clothes from shrinking and gives clothing a fresh scent, but in the summer it dries the clothes faster than the tumble drier does, doesn't let said dryer heat the house, and lowers our electricity bills by 100 bucks or more.
- maino82, on 10/11/2007, -0/+22what do you do for a living that you can shower 5 times during the day and not move at all from 12-3? i want that job!
- Jolene, on 10/11/2007, -2/+23Before everyone starts digging down rnwen2750. I think the question should be asked. Male, or female dorm...?
- krumel, on 10/11/2007, -1/+20Ice cubes everywhere.
- gmilburn, on 10/11/2007, -1/+15Shameless plug, but on-topic and hopefully someone might find it useful:
http://www.eng.uwaterloo.ca/~gmilburn/ac/ - profOblivion, on 10/11/2007, -0/+13You must be new here...
- InfamousAtheist, on 10/11/2007, -1/+12Yeah I'm from Houston... my first thought when I read the article description: whoever thinks they can get through summer w/no A/C has never spent July in Texas.
- Conwaysb0718, on 10/11/2007, -0/+9Same goes for Phoenix, Arizona.
- Angostura, on 10/11/2007, -0/+9The advice about humidity is slightly misleading. One tip that has worked for me is to open doors to get a blow-through and then to pin wet sheets over the door and keep them wet. Assuming you are at less than about 90% humidity, the evaporation makes the sheets really quite cool and you get a cool breeze coming into the house. I left the bottom of the sheet sitting in a bucket of water to act as a wick.
- Phyltre, on 10/11/2007, -0/+9Don't you find your clothes to be extremely hard? Or are you using softener in your washer cycle?
- stoolpigeon, on 10/11/2007, -0/+8swamp coolers only work if the humidity is low enough - even in the desert of arizona, swamp coolers are only effective part of the year
- GMorgan, on 10/11/2007, -2/+10Yes doctor, clearly you are at the forefront of modern medicine.
- moofer, on 10/11/2007, -1/+9Clearly you don't live in Phoenix
- lieutenantmudd, on 10/11/2007, -0/+7it also kills bacteria with UV light, where the heat from a drier encourages growth without getting hot enough to kill bacteria off
- Ottawa, on 10/11/2007, -1/+7Nothing works for everyone everywhere - but if everyone addressed their resdential energy use and resource consumption, we could start to make a dent in the more than 30% of carbon emissions homes themselves contribute to our home here on Earth. If you want to help make some headway in the place environmentalism begins (at home, to coin a paraphrase) please consider publishing your papers, articles, and so forth (or registering for the 50,000 Green Homes Initiative) at this place:
http://livegreenlivesmart.org/university/articles/default.aspx
Live Green, Live Smart is a not-for-profit organization promoting sustainable shelter, transportation and lifestyle practices. Our major initiative is The Sustainable House and the 50,000 Green Homes Initiative, demonstrating green building and remodeling practices with a LEED Platinum-nominated pilot project.
The website supporting and publicizing this work is in need of essays and papers about related themes, for the public to use as a resource -- a more directly juried wikipedia-style resource is being built.
There is no payment for contributions, just a byline. Submissions will be used as a resource by builders, teachers, students, and ordinary people working to save the planet.
For information about submissions and to review currently available material, visit http://livegreenlivesmart.org/university/articles/default.aspx - oddmanout, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6South Louisiana here. What most people don't realize is that the south was sparsely populated until electricity came along. Why? b/c its miserable and intolerable. Its too hot in the summertime and we have horrible storms all the time (its storming outside my window right now)
- bobba, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6You idiot
- rockefeller, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5and destine yourself to living in an apartment because you'll never be able to afford that $600,000, 900 square foot shoe box of a house.
- samuelcotterall, on 10/11/2007, -3/+8Well, right now England is having the most rain it's had in fifty years (supposedly) so I'll read this in August.
- akatherder, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5We just got a house with no central air. The upstairs is at least 20 degrees warmer than the first floor. The basement is probably 10-15 degrees cooler than the first floor. There is a trail of fans to blow the cool air upwards and we have a window a/c upstairs. When we get central air, it will be more economical to turn the thermostat down and run the window a/c upstairs.
Lots of cold showers
Spend time out at places that are air conditioned (the mall, grocery shopping, diner, bar)
Spend lots of time in the basement
Cut the grass and work later in the day when the sun is going down
I'm not above jumping in the kiddie pool to cool down and the kid doesn't mind. - Phyltre, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5This is very true. Even in South Carolina living in the heat can be fatal to someone who isn't used to it. Obviously you can live in extremely hot environments unassisted, but only after you acclimatize. And you'll need gallons of water...
- mrswirl, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5Living in Houston for a number of years, I found that the best thing to do is open windows on opposite sides of the house to promote a cross-breeze and use ceiling fans when possible. Oscillating fans on a post will also work well.
I now live in a more Northern climate so it doesn't get quite as muggy but can still be pretty hot. Since I now have a basement, I use a large box fan at the bottom of the basement stairs to pump colder air up to the main floor area where the ceiling fans can circulate it. - 4degrees, on 10/11/2007, -6/+11you know whats cheaper than an air conditioner, and even easy to build? a swamp cooler.
- aebcoat, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5Winter is opposite though, You dont hear many southners complaining when they are snowed in and cant leave the house :)
- LordOfTheSponge, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4I lived in Columbia SC one summer without AC - I can be done. Close windows and blinds during the day, open everything up at night.
Uncomfortable but doable. - mercano, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4Windows open all night, close em up first thing in the morning. (Of course, one has to be able to put up with waking up in the morning to a mid to low sixties bedroom where I live.)
- inactive, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4I live without air conditioning during the day. For some reason a week ago our outside unit started to shut off after running for about 20 minutes during the day, but it runs fine during the night. Dunno what it is but we manage the heat with attic fans and box fans around the house.
- fractorial, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5http://duggmirror.com/environment/11_Tricks_to_Keep_Your_House_Cool_this_Summer_With_No_Air_Conditioning/
- Pix869, on 10/11/2007, -2/+6Yep. Right now my 360 is on, under the desk, and it's burning my feet up.
It's worth it, however.
Also, mega-super-industry fans don't work well in small rooms -- they generate more heat than they're worth in bed-room and living-room sized areas that are enclosed (one door, no open windows).
~Bong hits 4 Jesus~ - auxplage, on 10/11/2007, -5/+9Most people did it all the time as little as 50 years ago.
- jfsimard79, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5Okay listen up, I tried this recently and didn't cost me a penny of electricity. You have to redo it every few hours or so. What I did was I took my tshirt and put it under water to get it 100% wet, then I drained some of the water and wore the shirt. Easily kept me cool. No fan, no air conditioning.
- inactive, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4Yeah it's pathetic how people talk about their reliance on technology that has only grown popular in the past 30 years. I mean *****, people, this is as easy living as has ever occurred in all of history. If people are dying b/c they don't plan ahead... well... I've got a Darwin award for them.
- Brss45, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4Not that I don't love AC, but it hasn't been around forever. I'm pretty sure humans have managed without it, so it really isn't as necessary as need be.
- CraigJ, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4people lived without the Internet, cell phones, and canned beer too...
- Jhorra, on 10/11/2007, -2/+5So it's either use the AC or have a misserable life? I'll take the AC.
- Brss45, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4F'in OHIO weather. We got snow for spring break, and now every other day is either low 80's or mid-90's. Not to mention the sparse rain. And my air conditioner doesn't work. And I had to mow the lawn. GEEZ. (Heat makes me irritable.)
- Practica, on 10/11/2007, -2/+5
In some locales, codes actually prevent people from doing things like drying clothes outdoors. We've really got to get in touch with reality - - boxmonkey, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4Half of these tips are about using your AC more wisely, not about living without AC. I live in FL and do not use my AC except when I have guests who aren't used to the heat. Most of these tips were not helpful.
- psykiv, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3So the only water you use is when you shower? Remind me never to go to your house. I don't want to see how dirty It'll be. Oh and at least around here, water is *A LOT* cheaper than electricity. Our electric bills consistently top $400, but our water bills rarely top $30.
Welcome to Miami where you have three seasons: hot, hotter, and hurricane :( - lieutenantmudd, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3I was a Peace Corps volunteer. My country of service loved their midday siestas.
- lieutenantmudd, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3and what do you think that summer fresh scent is....
- AxeSwinger, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3It sounds like the compressor is freezing during the day.
- AggieFalcon01, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4"Paint your roof white."
Many people who live in homes these days live in neighborhoods with nazi homeowners associations. I doubt such people would be allowed to plant a tree without permission, much less paint their roof.
Fine idea, but seems rather impractical. - chislev, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4You sir are a dumbass. Come and live Phoenix, Arizona in the middle of the Sonora desert , where the temperatures during the summer regularly reach 115. Once, it hit 122. The authorities had to shut down the airport, and any number of elderly people died because they didn't have air conditioning. Come and spend a summer as a homeless person on the streets in the middle of the summer. Watch as numbers of them die.
Then, after you have gone through all that, and then only, sir, you may say to my face that you don't need air
conditioning. -
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