

Ask YC: How do you keep your place cool in hot weather?  - lyime

I live in an apartment, its getting really hot. I am not going to invest in an AC. I have bunch of fans and so far its setup for corss ventilation. Any other tricks you guys have to keep your self cool. Hot weather is very distracting and energy draining.
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SwellJoe
I moved from Texas to the valley in winter of last year, and was stunned to
find that a lot of places (a majority?) don't have AC, including the house I
rented. But, the fact is it's not too bad. Yesterday and today were pretty
toasty, but after the long winter (I'm from Texas...the bay area is cold in
contrast), it's kind of a relief.

I have a swamp cooler in the bath tub with a fan blowing out into the rest of
the house. I'm running the vaporizer that I bought when I got a nasty sore
throat and head cold a couple of months back--a cool mist drizzling over me
all day is pretty sweet...actually, I think it's better than AC, but I might
be weird. And, of course, all the windows and doors are open (after about noon
when the house has heated up to be warmer than outside--since it cools down a
lot at night) to maximize the breeze.

And, as others have pointed out, there are other places to go. Coffee shops
often have AC. Libraries always do. Sitting under a tree in the park is
probably cooler than your apartment by 10 degrees, and pretty girls (or boys,
depending on your preference) might walk by once in a while.

Or you could buy a window unit. I made it through last summer without too much
discomfort, so I'll probably skip AC this year as well.

~~~
xlnt
Smart people might walk by your tree, too. In case you swing _that_ way...

~~~
SwellJoe
Who cares? It's too hot to talk.

~~~
xlnt
Screw that. How am I supposed to get in the mood without a little roleplaying?

~~~
SwellJoe
I usually just put on my robe and wizard hat.

~~~
xlnt
You again? I told you to stop messaging me.

~~~
carterschonwald
awesome subthread

~~~
carterschonwald
why was I downmodded? I actually legitimately do not understand why.

~~~
xlnt
even my haiku was downmodded! who knows. just ignore them.

------
chaostheory
<http://www.gmilburn.ca/ac/pete_ac.html>

[http://www.everythingusb.com/diy_usb_air-
conditioning_13207....](http://www.everythingusb.com/diy_usb_air-
conditioning_13207.html)

<http://www.instructables.com/id/Free-Air-Conditioning/>

~~~
SwellJoe
My ghetto/redneck solution is a towel with the end dipped in a bucket or tub
or sink hanging an inch or two from the intake of the fan. As the water
evaporates (and cools) more is drawn up into the towel via the wick effect.
Definitely not as fabulous as an elaborate system of ropes and pulleys seen in
those fine examples of ingenuity, but it works and allows me to be very lazy.

~~~
anewaccountname
The cooling effect of evaporation doesn't affect the vapors, infact it is just
the opposite, it only cools the body from which they are evaporating. All you
are doing is making your area more humid, thus making your sweat less
effective.

~~~
SwellJoe
OK, Mr. Science. Now I'm confused. Again.

However, I just stuck my hand in front of the fan, and I believe my
experimental method is sound. If you have trouble reproducing my results, let
me know. I'll have my landlord fix the physics in my house and try again. (Or,
you could add the cooler temperature of the water in the basin to the
calculations in your model.)

~~~
marvin
Actually, the evaporation effect will reduce the temperature of whatever is
around it, in this case the air. I don't know whether the effect is dramatic
enough to provide significant cooling for an entire apartment, but it's
probably enough to make you feel it. Do a calculation using the heat capacity
of water and referencing it against how often you have to refill the bucket.

Evaporation is what separates nice, cuddly good-weather clouds from
thunderstorms.

------
NonEUCitizen
Go to the public library.

~~~
technoguyrob
What a coincidence, I was interested in this very question just yesterday!
Here's the best I found:

[http://www.wikihow.com/Cool-Yourself-Without-Air-
Conditionin...](http://www.wikihow.com/Cool-Yourself-Without-Air-Conditioning)

~~~
xlnt
did you reply to that particular comment just to get to the top of the thread?

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asnyder
Why aren't you going to invest in an AC? They can be had for as low as $100
nowadays. You can even spend a few dollars more and get one that's very energy
efficient. Seems like the smart move to me.

~~~
lyime
Please find me portable ACs for <$100. I dont think i can install a AC in my
window.

~~~
mattmaroon
Even if it costs $200, it's well worth it for the productivity you gain.
You'll make that back in a week.

------
parenthesis
Wear few, or no clothes. Drink cold drinks. Take cold showers. Soak feet,
hands in cold water. Keep all the doors (internal, I mean) open. Open windows.
Using air con only adds to global warming.

~~~
pmjordan
I tend to soak 2 towels in cold water and wrap them around my torso and legs,
respectively. Repeat every few hours. In REALLY hot weather, frequently take
very short showers with your clothes on.

Luckily the place I'm living at has a basement, which stays cool even in
summer, so those methods aren't necessary.

------
run4yourlives
Investing in AC. :-)

It's well worth it in productivity costs alone. Even one of those portable
units that you can park next to your window works wonders.

~~~
blogimus
Can I assume that you (lyime) have at least one computer in your apartment and
that you have it on most of the time? I hate pointing our the obvious, but
excessive heat is not good for computers. If you are not comfortable there,
you could risk baking your cpu.

~~~
lyime
Well my machine is properly cooled. I built my own machine, so picking the
right cooling for my case/cpu/gpu was my number one priority :)

You are totally right though.

------
jward
I spent a summer working in a kitchen without AC. The trick I learned to
survive it is to get two dish towels and soak them in water. Wring them mostly
out and put them in the freezer. Wait a few hours and take one out and wrap it
around your neck. The blood flowing through your neck cools down and cools
your entire body very well. The reason for two is to alternate throughout the
day.

------
annoyed
assuming you live in the bay area: sleep all day and work at night

~~~
technoguyrob
_Reduced melatonin production has been proposed as a likely factor in the
significantly higher cancer rates in night workers,[28] and the effect of
modern lighting practice on endogenous melatonin has been proposed as a
contributory factor to the larger overall incidence of some cancers in the
developed world.[29]_

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melatonin>

~~~
rms
Fortunately you can buy Melatonin in pill form at your local drug store. 3mg
pills are common, a doctor would recommend taking 1mg because that is closer
to a natural dose. Side effects include vivid, lucid dreams...

~~~
annoyed
have you personally experienced this?

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rkowalick
If you already have a cross ventilation setup, that's pretty close to the
limit of how nice your place can be without AC. One thing you can do improve
the effectiveness of your setup is to work where all the airflow is going on.
Place your desk in between the air coming in and the air going out so you can
directly benefit from the flow.

------
DaniFong
Work where there's a breeze and shade. 3g is roughly the same cost as
AC/heating these days.

------
eyudkowsky
Had this problem once here. Got a portable AC.

Next time I moved, I made sure I had (central!) AC. I think if you're working
from home in the Bay Area, it's not really optional - maybe it used to be, but
not any more.

------
Prrometheus
Air Conditioning is one of the great modern inventions. It is what separates
us from the rest of the apes. Living without AC is like living without
plumbing - sure you can do it, but why would you want to?

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mhb
If you revealed why you aren't going to get an air conditioner maybe it would
lead to more relevant suggestions. Money? Environmental concerns? Too
difficult to install? Something else?

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bigtoga
Why not move to a place that has A/C pre-installed - is that an option? I know
that in some cities you're pretty much stuck with window units or nothing.

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attack
Get a de-humidifier. They are cheaper than AC, much more convenient, and
usually just as effective.

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edw519
Eat cool melon and nothing else.

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hooande
Window unit AC?

------
pistoriusp
How hot is it?

