Summer without air conditioning can make us hot and uncomfortable. In order to stay cool and comfortable without air conditioning, you can try doing various tricks that require water, fans, light clothes, cold food and drinks, mental strategies, and so on. You can also cool the entire house in a natural way and prevent heat from being trapped. With the right strategy, you can avoid the heat while being frugal and without using air conditioning.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Using Water to Cool Your Body Temperature
Step 1. Drink often
Your body will feel cooler after being hydrated. Try to drink at least 250 milliliters every hour. Add mint leaves, or orange, lemon, or cucumber slices in drinking water to make it more fresh. Maybe it's easier to drink water if the water has a taste.
Step 2. Spray cold water
Fill a spray bottle with cold water to create a fine mist. Spray on exposed skin for an immediate cooling effect.
You can also use a fan that can produce water mist. This portable tool uses battery power so it is easy to carry anywhere. When you turn on the fan and a mist of water occurs, the water will evaporate and hit your skin so you will immediately feel a cooling sensation
Step 3. Freeze the handkerchief and place it on your neck, forehead, hands or feet
Applying a damp cloth to the skin can help get rid of the heat. When the handkerchief is hot, rinse it and put it back in the freezer.
You can also put an ice pack (icepack) behind your head
Step 4. Steal the wrist with water
Run water over your wrists and other pressure points, such as the neck, inside of the elbows, and behind the knees, with water for 10 seconds for each area. This method can slightly reduce body temperature.
Step 5. Wet hair
Wet hair can lower body temperature. So, try doing this to get an immediate cooling effect. You can wet your entire hair, or just as long as the hair grows on your head. Evaporating the water will keep your head cool (though it can make your hair a bit frizzy if it's curly).
Wear a bandana that has been dipped in water and then put it on your head
Step 6. Fill the tub with cold water and enter it
Once you get used to the temperature, remove the water and refill it with cold water. Keep doing this until you are cool enough. Your body will stay cool long after you get out of the tub.
- If you don't like bathing, take a cold shower.
- You can also soak your feet in a bucket of cold water. The body radiates heat from the hands, feet, face, and ears so cooling these areas efficiently cools the body. The pool for children's walks is also suitable for adults.
Step 7. Swim
Head to the pool, lake, ocean, or river and relax. Soaking in the water will make you instantly feel cold. Don't forget to use sunscreen cream so that your skin doesn't get sunburned, which can actually make it hotter.
Method 2 of 3: Cooling the House
Step 1. Close the blinds or curtains
Covering the blinds and curtains during the day will help block out the sun. When the sun hits your building in the morning, close all outside windows and doors on the hottest days. Keep doing this until night falls and it's cool enough to open the windows at night.
- Install the blinds at an angle pointing up, so that when you look through the blinds, what you see is the ground, not the sky.
- To get better protection, install blinds or windows that are coated with a film so that like car windows, the glass is dark and or shiny.
Step 2. Open the window at night
Open windows in strategic places so the cool night air can blow in. Leaving all the doors in the house open (including wardrobes and kitchen cabinets) can also help. If left closed the cupboards will retain heat and your house won't get cold at night.
Be sure to get up early and close the windows and blinds when the sun hits your home, around 5-6am in some places
Step 3. Cool the house with a fan
Install a ceiling fan or exhaust fan to remove the hot air that has accumulated at the top of the room and push it out. Install a portable fan so that it can suck air from the floor, and blow hot air up toward the ceiling.
- Combine these fans to create good air circulation. Get rid of hot air out by installing a strong exhaust fan near the window and using a fan that can move left and right (oscillating fan) near another window so that fresh and cooler air can enter.
- You can also turn on a stove ventilator hood fan or open the smoke pipe. These two tools can dispel hot air from inside the house and suck the cooler afternoon air into the house.
Step 4. Make your own air conditioner
Place a metal bowl filled with salted ice in front of the fan, and position the fan so that the resulting air hits the ice. Or use one or more 2 liter bottles and fill them completely with water (70%) and halite (10%). Leave 20% of the bottle empty to make room if the ice melts. Freeze the liquid in the bottle, then place it in a large bowl (to catch the drippings as it condenses). Place the fan in such a position that the wind can hit the bottle. When the salty ice in the bottle melts, the surrounding air cools and the fan blows that air towards you.
- Salt lowers the temperature of the water when it freezes, so you get very cold ice.
- Bottled water and salt can be refrozen every night and used over and over again.
Step 5. Turn off all heat sources
Do not use the stove or oven for cooking. Eat cold foods, or use the microwave or grill outside when cooking. Turn off lights and the computer when not in use. Also turn off the TV because it can emit a lot of heat and because it can emit heat and draw unnecessary electricity from the adapter.
Incandescent lamps also emit heat. Replace with solid fluorescent lamps (CFLs) or LEDs
Step 6. Raise the cold air to the top
If your home has a basement and centralized ventilation system, have an HVAC (air conditioning) specialist install a cold air return in the basement. The air hole serves to draw cold air that naturally descends and recycles air throughout the house by setting the furnace engine to a "fan" (fan) setting.
Install a ventilation system in each room with a cool air intake, hot air exhaust fan, and air temperature and humidity controllers. This tool will enter fresh air at night and use the air conditioner only during the day
Step 7. Set the ceiling fan to rotate counterclockwise
This will draw hot air upwards while allowing fresh air to circulate into the room. Set the fan to high speed for added cooling effect.
Step 8. Install the whole-house fan
This tool will draw hot air under the roof (attic), then from there the hot air will be channeled out through the air holes. To cool the house, open the basement door, then make sure all the doors between the basement and the room where the whole-house fan is open. Turn on the fan at night and then open the downstairs room window, so it will cool the house efficiently. However, make sure that good attic vents are installed, otherwise the hot air will not be removed properly.
If you don't have one, install a roof ventilation hole. The cold under the roof will make a big difference to the temperature of the house
Method 3 of 3: Beating the Heat
Step 1. Avoid the hours when the sun is shining
Don't go out between 10am and 3pm, when the sun is at its hottest. That way your skin won't get sunburnt. Instead, do exercise or do homework in the morning or evening. Early mornings and evenings are usually cool enough to enjoy walks, runs, hikes, bikes, gardens, or gardening.
Step 2. Wear clothes that are suitable for summer
Use fabrics made from naturally loosely woven fabrics (cotton, silk, linen) instead of polyester, rayon, or other artificial materials (with the possible exception of fabric for appearance).
Choose light color clothes. Dark colors will absorb the heat of the sun and retain the heat longer than light or white clothes, which reflect light and heat
Step 3. Remove footwear
Take off your shoes and socks, especially when the weather is very humid. Wearing shoes and socks will make your feet sweat, and increase your overall body temperature. Go barefoot often.
Step 4. Have a good supply of ice in the freezer
Buy some popsicles from the supermarket, make your own popsicles, or freeze a bag of fresh fruit slices like watermelon, pineapple, or oranges. Cooling off can be a pleasant experience too!
Step 5. Use a small amount of min
Min refreshes the skin and leaves a nice cooling sensation. Try some products containing mint or menthol to cool your skin. Apply a lotion containing peppermint (avoid the face and eyes), take a bath with peppermint soap, use a foot soak or other powder containing min. There are even some min recipes that you can try, for example:
- Yogurt smoothie with watermelon and mint
- Cucumber-orange ice with mint leaves
- Iced tea and min
Step 6. Use satin sheets and pillowcases
Soft sheets can help keep you cool. So, choose silk or satin for a more comfortable feel. Cotton sheets are better than flannel, which should only be stored during the hot summer months. Silk, satin, and cotton will feel softer and cooler when you sleep.
Tips
- Do not leave the fan running in a closed room if no one is inside. The fan will not cool the air already in the room; it could even make it hotter. The fan motor generates heat and even the rotating air in the room can get a bit hot due to friction. The air feels cold when you are indoors due to the evaporation of moisture from your skin, which cools the body only when you are indoors. Save electricity and turn off all fans in confined spaces where no one is around.
- If you're still feeling the heat, head to the mall, library, movie theater, or other public building that has air conditioning.
- If your garage is under your house, in an uninhabited area, leave the car outside to cool before entering the garage.
- Don't stay indoors all the time on a hot day. While this may seem worse, staying indoors will trap hot air inside and no matter how many fans are inside, it will actually push hot air towards you.
Warning
- The heat is often followed by an unpleasant dryness. If there are water savings in your area, make sure you take that into account before implementing the water-intensive suggestions above.
- Although it is rare in people who are in good health, overhydration can occur in people who have heart, liver, or kidney problems. If you have a serious health problem, watch how much water you drink, as your kidneys may not be able to process excess water properly.
- Babies, children, pregnant women, and the elderly are prone to overheating. Be sure to keep an eye on at-risk family members, coworkers, and neighbors.
- If you experience symptoms of heat stroke or dehydration, call emergency medical services immediately and seek professional help. Body temperature exceeding 40°C is life-threatening and fatal if it reaches 45°C.
