Any alternitives to cool down my house as opposed to using my electricity guzzling SUV of an air conditioner??
Answers:
Try to decide which room is the one you want cool. Buy a window air conditioner for approx $250 Target, Walmart---shut the door and will have a cold room to hang out in and just turn off the big air conditioner. A window unit costs the same as using a regular window an--I did this myself.
Other answers:
Use plenty of shades or trees to help cool areas around your home . Also create breeze ways through areas of your house.By you opening large windows for incoming air and small outlets in windows and doors to suck out hot and let in cooler air.Try this It`s like being on an Island.With no Electric . or you can go solar energy.
Use plenty of shades or trees to help cool areas around your home . Also create breeze ways through areas of your house.By you opening large windows for incoming air and small outlets in windows and doors to suck out hot and let in cooler air.Try this It`s like being on an Island.With no Electric . or you can go solar energy.
A attic fan works great. Or you can start the habit of opening up windows at sunset and closing them in the morning and pulling shades, drapes close for the daylight hours.
How about painting the exterior white or a light color, to reflect the sun? Or, put some of that peel and stick stuff on your windows that keeps the light out. Also, make sure you are well insulated. :-)
Depending on your ability to pay for or the time to accomplish the "fixes"--or if it's a rental house.
1) Turbine spinners on the roof--make sure they are positioned for the wind to spin them-- they pull off the excessive heat in the attic-- which can be well over 175 deg Farenheit in a normal day. They work passivly (don't need electricity to work.) DIY item- really inexpensive for the results.
2) Attic insulation-- batts or bags-- can be a DIY - check with a big box store (home depot/lowes). Can also assist with wind turbines-- major difference in conditioned air loss (both heat and cool).
3) use the "candle test" around windows and doors-- lite candle, hold it in your hand and outline the window/door and watch the flame-- if you have incoming OR outgoing air it will show. If leaking conditioned air (same in winter but expensive heating too)-- check out how to seal the windows better-- amazing how much leakage we all have.
4) Concrete driveway or house bricks being heated by the sun, especially the west side?-- I have actually sprayed water from the hose on both the driveway and the house side-- which cooled them somewhat and the evaporation cooled the brick/concrete and the air around the door-- and I could tell the difference inside.
5) Carport on west side of your house-- amazing how much cooler the house was with that little bit of shade from the carport-- which itself keeps the concrete cooler.
If you live where it is fairly cool at night, open your windows. Buy a fairly big fan, not one of those box types, and place it near a window that the wind is blowing through and that will help. If you can, plant trees and grass. That helps a lot. I have 4 bedrooms and everyone has their own fan. We use them even when the AC is on and also use ceiling fans. My bill is fairly reasonable for my part of the country.