I don’t like it
This summer has been fairly mild in Sendai, but last week was a lot hotter. I don’t like air conditioning and prefer to use a combination of other strategies to stay cool outside of work. At home I wear as little as possible, sleep on bamboo sheets (one of the greatest inventions ever), and use an electric fan.
One way to make an electric fan more effective is to combine it with ice. This has two benefits: it takes some of the moisture out of the air through condensation and also lowers the temperature of the air slightly. You can see my setup in the picture above. A plastic bottle 2/3 full of water, frozen, a bowl to catch the condensation (this bottle accumulates a couple of centimeters of water in the bowl by the time it thaws out completely), and something to raise the bowl so that it is in front of the fan.
If you prepare three or four bottles you can rotate them fairly constantly and maintain a more pleasant environment without the expense, environmental damage, and air quality degradation of air conditioning.
Any other tips for the summer?
One way to make an electric fan more effective is to combine it with ice. This has two benefits: it takes some of the moisture out of the air through condensation and also lowers the temperature of the air slightly. You can see my setup in the picture above. A plastic bottle 2/3 full of water, frozen, a bowl to catch the condensation (this bottle accumulates a couple of centimeters of water in the bowl by the time it thaws out completely), and something to raise the bowl so that it is in front of the fan.
If you prepare three or four bottles you can rotate them fairly constantly and maintain a more pleasant environment without the expense, environmental damage, and air quality degradation of air conditioning.
Any other tips for the summer?
Great idea Ben, thanks! Looking forward to trying it when (if) the house gets really hot again. The humidity is the killer, so anything that helps to reduce that is a good idea.
In the past I’ve resorted to the “cold wet towel around the neck” technique to cool off, but not when I’m teaching. Fortunately our classroom is downstairs and is well-ventilated so it never gets uncomfortable. But the upstairs living area does.
Has anyone tried Mr Money Mustache’s idea of using fans to blow hot room air straight out the windows? The idea is that the cooler night air will come in through different windows to replace the expelled hot air. Haven’t tried it yet but it sounds interesting!
Of course, good house insulation helps a lot too. Our last house was WAY hotter than this one in summer. It’s not something you can easily change once you’ve bought the house, so make sure you buy a well-insulated one in the first place. Renters will probably have less luck with this because most rental properties seem to be built as cheaply as possible.
Stay cool, everyone, and have a nice summer!