JonR

Anybody besides me live without air conditioning?

Please share your favorite ways of making the summer heat (especially with high humidity) more bearable, both at home and on the road.

Of course the first and foremost is hydration. And that means mostly plain water. I mix in coffee and Diet Coke in moderation because I'm not giving those up even for the Good Old Summertime.

What else is effective? Years ago, city dwellers would sometimes sleep outdoors on hot nights. It's hard to believe now, and not very advisable...

Stan

JonR-- I don't use air either. I even had it my pick-up but had the system evacuated when I got the truck 3 yrs ago. I like the ozone layer. My get bys are--two 20" Patton air circulators. They move allot of air. Another trick I've learned is to restrict UV radiation( sunlight) coming into the house as much as possible. If fact most of the daylight hours the shades are drawn at my house. This makes a big difference.
Cycling, I have to say has really made a difference in the affect heat has on my body. I rode Friday(3-5:45 Pm) and out by KCI this morning(MS training ride.) It was hot, but it makes a big difference; increasing my heat tolerence. Of course my age is also a factor. I'm 38.
One oter thing I've learned is when it really gets hot I throw a mattress on the floor. lower to the floor is cooler. I generally only have to do this in extreme heat though.
anyhoo, this is what has worked for me. Ride long and prosper. Stan.

JonR

My procedures are very much like yours, Stan: I have a 13-inch Patton fan on the floor by the computer, without which this posting would not be possible! And a similar-size Vornado fan in the bedroom, directed either up or directly on me, depending on conditions, or occasionally on the floor to circulate air through the apartment (what Vornado's are chiefly made for).

And I keep my shades drawn, and the blinds on top of them.

At night, if outdoor temperature is somewhat lower than indoor (not the case lately!), I draw in outdoor air with a window fan in the bedroom set on "exhaust." This works very well when weather is halfway normal.

As for sleeping on the floor--I haven't got around to that yet, but my cat says, "This is the place to be. You ought to try it."

And, as you found, cycling has done more than any one other thing to increase my tolerance of heat. I noticed that the first summer I commuted, and it's helping again this year.

Jean Beetham Smith 

Jon, for years my husband set our window fan in the exhaust mode and from my side of the bed it never felt like any air was being moved at all. Finally (yes, when the hot-flashes hit) I couldn't stand it and rearranged the room so the foot of the bed faced the window and turned the fan to intake. To our surprise, that actually worked better at getting the hot air out of the room and we have both been sleeping much better on hot nights. Come morning the whole house is much cooler and ready to be closed down for the day.

JonR

Jean, how surprising... I've never tried that, but might give it a go tonight. Maybe it depends on part of the configuration of the living space. I've got one of those standard one-bedroom apartment layouts. But it can't hurt to try.

MichaelW

In Zimbabwe, the headquartres of a bank was built with passive air conditioning, using the same principles as a termites nest. The multi-story office building is quite comfortable enough, and they have no A/C bills to pay.

JonR

I think you've just described my apartment building.

P. S. I did try the intake method last night, but my ancient window fan is so set in its ways now that it sounded like it was about to fly apart when I reversed its direction. So I reluctantly had to go back to exhaust.