Beating the heat

Tue., June 20, 2006

Maryanne Gaddy Correspondent

Buying a room air conditioner

» It's a little late in the year for a central cooling system to do you any good. If you haven't ordered it by now, it's not likely you can get it installed before the hot season is over. A unit air conditioner, however, can easily keep a living room, bedroom or small apartment cool, is readily available and is easy to install. You'll need to pony up about $200-300 for the unit, and of course there's the ongoing operating cost.

» The necessary power (BTUs) of your air conditioner is primarily determined by the size of the room to be cooled. Carefully figure the volume of the room in question; rooms openly adjoining each other count as one room.

» Be sure to note the size of the window opening as well.

» A quality unit will have at least two each of power settings and fan speeds, an adjustable thermostat and adjustable vents to control airflow direction. A five-year manufacturer's warranty is fairly standard throughout the industry.

» Be sure to look for a unit with a high energy efficiency rating. They often cost a bit more up front but are less expensive to run, thus saving money in the long term.

» And finally, make sure you get it installed correctly and securely with an appropriate power source.

Is there life without air conditioning?

The longest day of the year is fast upon us and – once the rain stops – the hottest will surely soon follow. When the inevitable 100-plus week arrives, it’s time to test the truth of that oh so-Spokane statement: You really don’t need air conditioning around here.

So a trip to the movie theater brings a couple hours of relief, but with the price of movie tickets these days, that surely isn’t the most cost-effective way to cool down.

Installing full-home air conditioning is an option, but it can set you back several thousand dollars. And for some that solution brings with it not just economic concerns, but environmental ones as well.

There are other tricks to make your home more heat efficient, but many take time or need to be incorporated into the original design. That may not work because you are hot and you need relief now.

So what’s a hot homeowner to do?

Immediately upon rising in the morning, close all your windows and draw the shades or curtains. The single most efficient way to keep the house cool is to keep out the heat in the first place. Choosing drapes with a white exterior liner or light colored blinds will help reflect the sun.

If you remodel, be sure to choose a light-colored roofing material and install a heat-reflecting shield underneath.

In the meantime, just caulking your windows and adding weather stripping to exterior doors can do much to keep excess heat out.

Reflective window tints on south-facing windows cut heat absorption by about 30 percent, not to mention the years they’ll add to the life your carpet and furniture by preventing fading. At about $40 to $60 a window, tints are cost effective and fairly easy to install.

Take a cool morning shower, or if it must be hot, keep it brief. The steam can skyrocket the room temperature, and the added humidity makes the heat even more uncomfortable.

Standard light bulbs give off 10 percent light and 90 percent heat, so be sure to kill them all before heading out for the day. Switching to compact fluorescent bulbs reverses the ratio.

If you live in a house, planting bushes, trees and vines to shade your home will help keep the exterior air moist and cool.

Shade trees may take 20 years to cool the house, but go ahead and plant them anyway. Those years will pass, and once the shade trees mature, they can lower indoor temperatures by up to 20 degrees. While the trees are striving to mature, quick-growing vines such as clematis and grapes planted on trellises near the house can shade exterior walls, thus blocking heat absorption.

Lower shrubs protect the foundation from heat absorption and do double duty on blocking drafts in the winter. Shading the southern and western walls will have the highest impact.

Instead of using the oven, fire up your barbecue or outdoor grill. Better yet, prepare cold suppers such as salads and sandwiches, and don’t forget the cold drinks.

To catch the evening breeze, open the lowest windows facing into the breeze, prop open interior doors and open the highest exterior windows and doors facing away from the breeze. Warm air will be drawn up and out of the house.

Attic vents are extremely effective: a well-ventilated attic can be up to 30 degrees cooler than one with stagnant air. At as little as $10-15 apiece, attic vents are a bargain.

Luckily, no matter how hot the days, this region is usually blessed with cool nights.

As the sun sets, placing fans in windows and allowing them to run throughout the night drops the interior temperature of your room considerably.

A nice stroll during the long twilight hours keeps you out of doors while the breeze and fans cool down your home. By the time you crawl into bed, you’ll be able to snuggle under the covers as cool and comfortable as anyone in an air-conditioned home, and at a fraction of the cost.

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