Whats the best way to cool your house w/o A/C ?

Question

I live on a Navy base and we are not allowed to have an A/C unit. It gets pretty darn hot here in the summers and I have a ton of fans but thats not cutting it. Any help would be great !

Answer 1

Close your shades or curtains in the am for the sunny side and open in pm and close side of house that sun is on in pm. Really cuts down on temperature inside.

Make sure your fans are drawing out the hot air and bringing the cool air inside. If you have 2 windows side by side, put fan in one to draw out and open other window to pull air in. Works especially good at night for sleeping!

Answer 2

The best way is to do as we did when we were kids without AC: use a large window fan or attic fan. The trick is you only open a couple of windows when the fan is on and you blow the air OUT of the window. For instance, when you're sleeping, put the fan on blowing OUT and open only the bedroom window. The fan will draw through that bedroom window. An attic fan is even better. You only have to adjust which window you want open to cool the area.They have to be large (not the Walmart type) and I'm sure they still sell them at larger home improvement centers. Only use humidifiers if you're in a low humidity climate. Too much humidity will make it feel alot hotter.

Answer 3

I have the same kind of problem, so I look forward to reading what other people have answered. The nights are colder here, so what we do is open the window as soon as the temperature outside is colder than it is inside, then in early to mid morning we close the windows and also close the blinds for any windows that have direct sunlight. This helps a lot so far, but we live up north and it hasn't gotten incredibly hot yet.

Answer 4

Is there attic with louvers in it? If so install a fan at one of the louvers so it blows the out air out and creates a draw so cooler air comes in from the opposite site louvers. You could see a 10 degree or so lower temperature. You should be able to rig one up for a temporary installation since its not your home. be careful how you run your electrical extension. Possible to go to a hardware and then a thermostat to put the the circuit so it turns on at a certain temperature.

Answer 5

Use a ventilation fan to suck out hot air between the roof and ceiling and discharge outside.If possible Insulate the roof with rock wool and this will prevent heat from getting in.
Lastly installed a fine mist sprinkle system on the roof and pro gramme to work at regular interval and off at night

Answer 6

You might inquire as to whether or not you're allowed to plant trees. Planting trees near windows blocks some of the sun's rays from getting into the room, thus keeping the room cooler overall. Unfortunately this doesn't help you as much when the tree is still young, not to mention the cost involved. You might ask around the base to see if they can offset some of the costs - after all, you're beautifying their base, not to mention improving air quality. If you pick one, make sure it grows to the correct height - you don't want to overshoot or undershoot your windows - as well as one that is indigenous to the area - you'll have to mess with it less. Good luck! I hope some of my advice helped.

Answer 7

There are alot of good answers here, here's another thing to try, get a bucket or something that will hold water. But instead of water , put lots of ice in it , put it in front of the fan, and, well, you get the idea. Sure hope this helps you. I feel sorry for you

Answer 8

Hose your abode down in the afternoon.We use to do that back in the 50's.

Answer 9

Can you use a dehumidifier?
The humidity bothers me more than the heat.

Answer 10

put buckets of water, let it vapor, that will generate cool air.