Tips and hacks - What are you doing to keep your house cool in this heat?

[Anonymous]

What changes have you made to keep your house cool in this heat? We know that Earth is going to continue to become hotter. Extreme weather events are also going to be more frequent.

Here is what we are doing -
- Closing blinds and curtains to prevent the sunlight from heating the inside of the house in the daytime.
- Sun protection film outside the glass windows to keep the heat away.
- using ceiling fans and whole house fans in the AC to keep the cool air circulating.
- do all cooking, dishwashing and laundry in the cooler parts of the day.
- added solar attic fan in our garage and it has cooled down at least 15 degrees
- added lots of insulation in the ceiling to make the house very comfortable
- additional room ACs in two bedrooms to keep the rooms extra cool and have backup in case the AC dies.
- added some rain garden beds to hold back water in our yard so that our trees remain watered.
- not exercising in the sun. Using a hat, sun glasses, and an umbrella/parasol to keep cool outside.

[Anonymous]

I set my AC to 72 then autopay to electric bill.

[Anonymous]

Not specific to the cooling, but to address the severe thunderstorms, I just redid the swale in our backyard and added a rain garden on the fence-line on our periodic stream's exit. Over 30 years, the slope slowly eroded and we started just puddling water across the entire yard after downpours. It took days to evaporate/seep into the clay, which killed the yard and allowed invasive stiltgrass.

But more along the lines for cooling your house in the summer in the long term - plant deciduous shade trees, especially on the south and west sides of the house.

[Anonymous]

Decided years ago not to cut down any of the mature trees that surround our house. We have layers of dogwoods, oaks, maples, hickory, and poplars. It's easily 10-15 degrees cooler under our trees than out in the direct sun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I set my AC to 72 then autopay to electric bill.

+1

We live in the 21st-century – there are no “hacks” needed to keep your house cool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I set my AC to 72 then autopay to electric bill.

+1

We live in the 21st-century – there are no “hacks” needed to keep your house cool.

+2. I use a/c. I do keep my blackout shades closed in the bedrooms. And I stay inside as much as possible-I live in AZ.

[Anonymous]

We added a whole house dehumidifier to our system. We also have solar panels and a backup battery so if power goes out we will still have electricity to cool. We have also planted trees to replace trees that came down.

[Anonymous]

No indoor cooking on hot days. I make salads and use the barbecue grill. I also do not run the washer/dryer during the daytime.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I set my AC to 72 then autopay to electric bill.

+1

We live in the 21st-century – there are no “hacks” needed to keep your house cool.

No, but if you can keep your house cool without just blasting the AC, you'll save money and contribute marginally less to the underlying climate change in the process. Win-win!

[Anonymous]

Just a very few corporations are responsible for the carbon emissions, and our planet is already dying. It feels hopeless and I feel bad for countries with about zero carbon footprint and lots of outdoor workers like bangladesh - there will be lots of deaths. Not to mention all the animals that will die.

[Anonymous]

I live in a 1950s house with terrible insulation. My husband and I like to sleep cool so drop the temp down to 68 at night. Around 6a our auto thermostat raises to 76. We have ceiling fans running upstairs and keep curtains closed in rooms that get direct sunlight. Temp has not gotten above 74 in our house. We do not open windows or doors to let air circulate. In modern homes this is just going to make things worse in this heat and humidity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We added a whole house dehumidifier to our system. We also have solar panels and a backup battery so if power goes out we will still have electricity to cool. We have also planted trees to replace trees that came down.

How much would this be?

[Anonymous]

My oak tree keeps it 10 degrees cooler

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just a very few corporations are responsible for the carbon emissions, and our planet is already dying. It feels hopeless and I feel bad for countries with about zero carbon footprint and lots of outdoor workers like bangladesh - there will be lots of deaths. Not to mention all the animals that will die.

Yes it's so easy to blame those "corporations". Let's take oil and gas companies. If they're so evil, then why are you still driving/riding in automobiles? Flying on planes? Getting deliveries to your house? Using anything that's plastic?

Drilling is the most sustainable it's ever been. What's not sustainable is the consumption. Even renewable energy power plants are a problem. For every windfarm or solar field, you need a natural gas plant that can come online immediately when there's a surge in use/cloudy day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My oak tree keeps it 10 degrees cooler

That hack requires extreme planning. Or time travel. And a big lot.