Posted 56 days ago
Keep Your Cool When the Weather Gets Hot - What Does It Have To Do With Christianity?
I have just been reading a fascinating article and conversation at Alternet about whether or not we can live without air conditioning. The article Air Conditioning is Terrible for the Earth – Here’s How To Live Without it is well worth a read.
Now many of you may think that because I live in the Pacific NW where the weather is rarely warm enough to bother with air conditioning, I have little to say. However I spent most of my life in Australia and working in the tropics – living on an unairconditioned ship so I feel I am more of an expert than you would expect. Of course now that most of the temperatures across the US have dropped below the searing heat levels of last week some of us may think that we can forget about this until next year – after all when the temperatures are in the 80s we are not likely to overstress the electrical grid with our power usage. But then again summer is just beginning and acording to the Alternet article:
The air-conditioning of America’s homes, businesses schools, and vehicles causes the release of greenhouse gases equivalent to 400 million tons of carbon dioxide annually.
There are a number of ways to cut down the inside temperature of our houses without using energy intensive air conditioning as the Alternet article suggests – some simple, some not so simple. So lets start with some of the simple ones first:
- Plant deciduous trees on the south side of the house in the northern hemisphere on the northern side of the house in southern hemisphere.
- If you are still waiting for those trees to grow close windows and curtains during the day in rooms that get direct sun; open windows and doors at night.
- Make sure roof and walls are well insulated. Seal gaps around windows and doors so that heat cannot enter.
- Move the air – use fans can decrease the temperature by 5 – 8 degrees and opening windows for flow through air will similarly reduce temperatures.
- Wear clothing made of materials that breathe – like cotton or wool (yes wool is warm in winter & cool in summer). Loose fitting garments are better than tight fitting. Also get rid of those shoes or wear sandals. Feet are good heat exchangers.
- Wet down your clothing with a spray bottle and stand in front of a fan, wear a wet hat or wipe down the back of your neck with a wet cloth.
- Drink plenty of water (not alcohol or sugar drinks)
- Turn off any unnecessary appliances. All electrical appliances generate heat; particularly refrigerators and TV’s. Plasma screens in particular are known to create a great deal of heat, to the point that some refer to them as space heaters. Other huge heat producers are clothes dryers and dishwashers so take advantage of the cool evenings to hang your clothes outside or put them on a drying rack in front of your fan and take advantage of the cooling flow of air.
- Replace your incandescent lights with CFLs.
In dry climates replace traditional air conditioning units with evaporative (swamp or desert) air conditioners. - Retreat to the basement if you have one – it will be the coolest part of the house.
And now for some more challenging solutions:
- Build houses with lots of overhang – porches, verandahs and eaves all make a difference in the heat
- Learn from the termites. Here is an amazing building design in Zimbabwe based on the air cooling system found in a termite hill.
- Build an underground house and cut do away with air conditioning costs
- Build on stilts. This increases air flow through the house though if you live in a place that gets cold in the winter this may not be very helpful.
- Get involved in your community and advocate for the replacing of asphalt with parks and green spaces. Cities absorb more solar energy during the day and are slower to release it after the sun sets, making for uncomfortable nights and no real relief from the heat. And because they haven’t cooled down as much overnight, mornings are warmer and the thermometer goes right back up when the sun starts beating down the next day. Green areas help keep the temperatures down.
I am sure that there are lots of other ideas that I have not thought of here so let me know – how do you keep cool in the hot weather?
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Check out the Canadian Home Builders Association – Canadian government R2000 Builders Manual. You guys spend more money cooling your homes than we do heating our houses in the frozen North! Cold cliimate technology is good for hot cliimate technology. And quite simple….be cool be blessed — with a Merry Heart—-Kid
Kid Christian » 56 days ago » Link