6 Cheap Ways To Stay Cool Without Air Conditioning
- July 31, 2009 by Fox | Comments: 22
Some like it hot. Some like it as cold as ice. But if you’re living without air conditioning and stuck sweating it out in a hot house or trying to get some sleep in a sweltering apartment, then chances are you’re feeling a little too hot to handle these days.
Various zones around the world are experiencing a heat wave of sorts this summer. My home province, British Columbia, is currently roasting at 38 degrees Celsius, that’s just over 100F. I’m sure my American friends in Texas and Las Vegas are thinking me a lightweight. But if you’re not acclimatized to dang hot weather and don’t have air conditioning, then coming home after work feels like getting out of the frying pan and into the fire.
Since I’d rather be as cool as a cucumber at night, I’ve found some hot ways to stay cool on the cheap. These DIY cooling tactics won’t replace central air or an air conditioner, but you just might feel more comfortable in the heat. Here are 6 cheap ways to stay cool without air conditioning:
1. Get a Fan
I’m not talking about becoming a Squawkfox fan on Facebook, but rather investing a little cold cash into a simple fan. There are many types of fans on the market these days and they vary in cost, power usage, and placement. Here are a few of the more popular types:
- Ceiling Fan: Classic ceiling fans are a frugal way to put the freeze on the summer heat. Ceiling fans are amazing for moving air in a larger room and can circulate the stuffy out of any situation. They start around $40 and can go up to hundreds of dollars depending on size, power, blade number, and style. Standard 30-inch 6-blade ceiling fans are best suited for medium-sized rooms up to 8 x 10, such as a small kitchen or bedroom. If your room is bigger, then you’ll need a larger fan to fit.
- Tower Fan: A tower fan is a large upright fan that uses an internally rotating cylinder to move lots of air quickly and efficiently. Many tower fans also contain an air filter so they’ll clean and freshen the air as it circulates. They cost around $30 for a small unit and up to $120 for bigger towers. If you’re into using remote controls to cool your environment and have allergies, then a tower fan just may be your best friend.
- Window Fan: A window fan is great if you’re short on space, have a low ceiling, or just want your fan out of sight. Window fans keep you cool by mounting directly into a window and can easily be moved to any room with a window view – so you can stay cool in your living room in the evening and then chill out in your bedroom at night. Many window fans do double duty since they can be used to draw in fresh, cool air from outside or to exhaust stale, hot air from the inside. They cost around $40 and are easily stored in a closet until they are needed next.
2. Turn ON The Blower
Running the blower (or fan) for your centreal heating system will move air around your home and give you some heat relief. Turning on the blower won’t keep you chilled like air conditioning, but you’ll take the stuffy out of upper floors and move stale air from main floors. The blower will also move cool air from the basement to the rest of the house.
3. Move Into Your Basement
If your home is blazing hot and you can’t handle the heat upstairs, try sleeping in the basement to cool your costs. Setting up a bed and sleeping below ground is free and can help you catch some ZZZs when the weather is unbearable. I’ve spent most of this summer slumbering in my basement and I think it’s an awesome use for an often unloved space. If you’ve got kiddlets then make it a game and lay out some sleeping bags and pretend you’re camping. You may just have some frugal fun while you’re at it.
4. Plant a Tree
Planting trees on the south side of your home can help reduce summer cooling costs. Deciduous trees, which lose their leaves in the fall, provide ample shade in the summer, keeping your home cooler while letting more warming light through in the winter. Planting trees around your home can have the added bonus of increasing your property value too. A smaller deciduous tree costs around $50 and can pay for itself in energy savings and increased property value.
5. Close Drapes and Blinds
Your existing drapes and blinds can be closed to shut out the heat during the day and opened to keep you cooler at night. Drapes tend to shield you from sizzling summer heat by shading your home from the hot afternoon sunlight. So don’t forget to shut the blinds before heading for work and open them at night to chill a room out.
6. Find a Friend
Finding a friend with air conditioning may be a cool move if you’re living without drapes, don’t have a basement, or prefer to live fan-free. Cool friends boasting a place to “chill-out” might just prove golden for the hottest of summer nights. So if you can’t handle the heat, then be sure to bring your besty a bottle of summer spirits for helping you out in a hot situation. ‘Cause that’s what friends are for.
Got any cool tips for keeping your place chill in the hot summer months? Share away!
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Your Two Cents:
Hi Kerry. I’m making good use of my fan I can tell you that. The type of fabric you wear helps too; as I’m sure you know, 100% cotton breathes better than other fabrics.
And to stay hydrated, besides drinking lots of fluid, avoid caffeine, alcohol and drinks with lots of sugar in them as they cause the body to loose fluid.
Putting a cold washcloth behind your neck will provide some temporary relief, as will holding your wrists beneath cold running water for a few seconds.
Using a cooling vest and other personal cooling devices when the weather is 80 and above saves me from feeling ill due to MS. For those who need it, there are a lot of different types and styles out there. Google search: MS cooling devices or personal cooling devices.
1. Close drapes and blinds while away at work.
2. Drink water (repeat)
3. Buy a low-cost air conditioning for your house/flat/room to sleep better at night.
And please, don’t drive the car around to simply benefit from the air conditioning. Burning up fuel to cool you down is NOT frugal … at all.
Stay cool!
I’m disappointed that 3 of these are only for people with Houses. What about all us apartment dwellers? Most of us have some form of radiator heat (no blower), no basement, and can’t really get a tree in front of our windows.
Well, three out of six isnt bad.
@Davina Ohh I know I’m supposed to stay hydrated. But a nice glass of vino sure makes the heat taste sweet.
@Bleu I just placed an ice cold washcloth on my dog’s head. She loves your suggestion!
@Carla I’ve never heard of a cooling vest. Very cool tool.
@Joe Awesome suggestions…especially with regards to driving.
@Eris I was an apartment dweller for decades and I feel your pain. Depending on your rental there may be limited options for getting cool in the heat. When I rented I steered clear of upper floor units due to the heat. I’ve always lived in basement suites and lower levels to stay cooler in the summer. Lower level units are also a frugal bonus because they tend to cost less than upper units. If you’re still “hot stuff” in your apartment unit it may make sense to get an inexpensive air conditioning unit for your place – one you can move with.
@Jan Guess 50% is pretty darn good. I like your math.
My 2 cents? DO NOT buy the ‘made in china’ A/C unit… I’m a A/C tech in the industry for 30 years and have found the compressors on these units do not last or endure… You’ll be tossing it in a landfill somewhere within 2 or 3 years depending on where you live and how much you run it or paying to have the refrigerant recycled and possibly the components… It’s getting difficult or impossible to purchase USA made units similar to these communist-made units but you gotta demand it from providers… We have established standards for a reason; USA mfrs already know what it takes to provide quality products, we’ve been doing it for years… ‘Getting a fan’ only blows around hot air, if it’s 85°F then you’re only blowing around 85°.
A/C is for comfort mostly and in some cases necessary for equipment function.. Computer rooms come to mind..
The average homeowner needs to know to clean systems regularly each year, keep filters clean.. Wash away dust or dirt accumulated in cooling/condensing coils on a regular basis.. cheers, kooler
Great post. Cool tips to cool. Most of your links to the products are directed to Amazon US and NOT Amazon Canada, which is sad. I hope future links will be towards Amazon Canada.
Thanks for the ideas Kerry! I’ve been reading your blog ever since I used your resume tips (thanks!) this past spring.
I live in a 3rd floor condo, and my poor husband has to work from home all day in the heat. We’re much too cheap to pay for A/C so here’s how we’ve stayed as cool as possible:
- keep as many inside doors closed as possible. Even though its hard to get air circulation in a condo, its easier for a fan to cool down smaller spaces.
- of course hydrate as much as possible, and use lots of ice!
- ice cold showers… often multiple times a day
- put a bowl of ice water in front of your fan – you’d be surprised how much difference it makes!
These are such great ideas that everyone is sharing.
Adrienne, I read somewhere that taking a tepid shower is actually a better way to stay cool than taking a cold shower, because a cold shower causes the body to work harder to adjust to the heat afterward. I haven’t tested that theory, though.
i guess you forgot shopping-malls.
@passingby My goal is to keep you guys outta the shopping malls.
Here’s another tip:
buy reflective plastic film, cut to cover a window, wet the window with water, and attach the film. The film will stick without any glue and is easy to take off. Just be careful to get any air bubbles out from under the film. If it does fall off, try adding some soap to the water.
There are kinds of film, which are reflective, yet they do let some amount of light through, so it won’t get totally dark in the room. If you can’t find that, you can still use the opaque film, but you probably don’t want to cover the entire window. It will help, though, even if you cover the window only partially.
The cost – next to nothing.
The effect – you’ll be amazed, how cool it can be even in rooms with windows facing south.
With the dehumidifier running so much this summer, our basement is usually hotter than the upstairs!
We have a heat recovery ventilator that we run in the winter, but the installer told us not to bother running it in the heat and humidity, since it, well, brings hot and humid air inside as fresh air, which would just make things worse. So far we’re surviving with ceiling fans and strategically opened windows.
Another way to cool is to fill a pan with ice water and set it under the fan so it blows over the top of the water. It will create a cool breeze for the room.
Great post! I also put a cool cloth on the back of my neck and that really helps!
take advantage of stores and shopping malls that are blasting their air conditioning…just be sure not to blow your money in the store!
I have window fans in all three bedrooms upstairs, and two ceiling fans downstairs.
When I was pregnant we used a block of ice in front of the fan to chill the air. Cheap and works great. I had an airconditioner, but the problem is that the unit was not very effective on the fan setting and much to heavy to remove on a cooler night so it had to be run on the a/c setting permanently which cost a lot of hydro $$.
We have curtains on all our windows, you’d be surprised at how much of a difference even a bamboo blind or a sheer can make, for both heat or chill. Open all the windows and acclimatize. I use a horse trough for the kiddies to splash in to keep them cool. Or just douse my head in cold water… faster than the shower and works at cooling me off.
Strangely enough I find the 6th tip to be the most valuable. You get to connect with friends and relax from the heat. A win win situation. If you can’t find anyone to visit then try taking a nice long stroll at the shopping mall and window shop a little.