I am in Northern California. I see on the news all across the country are in for it today. My utilities were 100 a week last summer. So far this year I have not regularly been flipping on the AC.
How will you stay cool today?
What are your strategies for staying comfortable during very hot days?
I have AC, but "refuse" to use it, lol. I'm in CO where the nights cool down considerably. I am so grateful for that! I open the windows at night and put fans in the windows. I leave them open/running all night, until the temp outdoors heats up. Then, I close all of the blinds, windows. On the days it reaches 95+, it gets hot...but bearable. If the desperate need to use AC ever arises, I'll definitely do so, but so far, I haven't had to.
I do have my ceiling fans running 24/7.
I grew up in KS without AC, so my body must be used to hot weather/no AC.
I don't run AC very often here in NE Wisconsin. We're under a heat advisory today starting around noon. If my house starts off comfortable, it takes some time for it to become uncomfortable due to the big shade trees that protect the house from the southern exposure. I ran the dehumidifier function on my window AC for about an hour this morning. I'll turn off heat producing electronics today, refrain from using the oven or stove top and have already drawn the blinds. Because of the humidity, I wasn't able to open the house and cool it down last night so I'll likely need to run the air for a couple of hours this evening. Generally, though, I don't begin to feel uncomfortable until the house temp gets into the upper 70's but I will pay particular attention to hydration today. I won't attempt any outdoor activity this afternoon.
I can't imagine spending $100/week on AC. My summer electricity bill rarely goes over $75/month.
I will have to leave the windows open at night also, in spite of the noise from neighbors which bothers me. I’m not looking forward to the heat the next several days.
I’m just a few miles south of you and it will be in the high 80’s. I cannot take the heat. We do not have ac. Leave doors and windows opened all night, then close front door on afternoon. Keep all drapes and shutters tightly closed. Ceiling fans.
Northern NJ is not experiencing the heat wave a lot of areas are. I did replace my AC/ furnace back in April. When the AC died a year ago, it wasn’t in the budget so I got by with ceiling fans and other house fans. Unfortunately, I have no cross-breezes and have neighbors who smoke, so opening the windows doesn’t help. I don’t tend to run the AC unless it gets so hot I can’t sleep.
I live in the SoCal desert where AC is an absolute must. In the past two years I’ve replaced and upgraded every AC component in my forty year old house. The house came with ceiling fans which I rarely use. I replaced all the windows and sliders, and added more insulation to the attic. Patios line the house on three sides so only one small bathroom window gets direct sun. I planted five trees for future shade. I figure I’ve invested and done all I can to keep the house cool. I walk my dog early and after sundown, and shorts are my summer uniform. Most of my neighbors have a pool but I’m not a water person and don’t want the maintenance.
Triple digits aren’t for everyone, but to me they are quite doable. I love my area except for the summer so here I’ll stay. I do regularly escape to my mountain cabin which helps.
It has been in the low 50's in the morning and low 60's in the day lately.
When I lived in TX, it was unreal hot to me. (Over 100 often.)
I kept my house cool because I could. However, when I visit people there now, the heat is miserable.
One thing that really helps is to wash your hair at night. Then leave it wet and turn a fan on.
My hair is a hot mess when I wake up after doing that, but at least I am able to fall asleep.
I thought of 1 more thing that might help. One of my bedrooms was tiled as opposed to carpeted. I used to shut the door and blast the ac in that room only. It kept the cool air in that room really well. If you can put your bed, computer and tv in a tiled room and keep the door shut, it helps a lot too.
One thing that really helps is to wash your hair at night. Then leave it wet and turn a fan on.
If you do this, though, be sure to use earplugs. Otherwise it can be a shortcut to swimmers ear. Been there, done that.
When I was young, surviving midsummer heat in inner city Minneapolis without AC, I would sometimes wet down a lightweight t-shirt and sleep on the floor in front of a fan. A city holds the heat in a way that suburban and rural areas don't. Sometimes it would still be in the 90's at 10:00 p.m. It doesn't always cool off as much at night as I wish it would here, but I can count on temps going down to the mid-70's even during a heat wave.
We close windows after having them open all night, use black out draperies, double-pane windows, but being an old, dafty home with a basement, we have air leaks. Mom used to say a house needs to breathe.
We definitely could use better attic insulation.
One room has cool tiles, in winter freezing, but pure delight in summer.
I shop in the afternoon to enjoy A/C and be active, garden before noon, swim in our pool, seek shade. I wear sunscreen, sun glasses, a hat, long-sleeved shirt for gardening and pants.
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06-21-2022, 06:21 AM
