Help us stay cool!!?
Question:We live in a studio apartment that doesnt have a/c. we are also not allowed to have a/c units in our windows because we live above a very busy street.
we already have 4 fans (including a ceiling fan) and all it really does in the hot afternoon is rotate the hot air.
Any ideas on keeping it cool in this place? we are sweltering!
Answers:
Are you handy with wood? The idea would be to make a wood box. The bottom of it would rest on the floor of your apartment but the open back would abut the window frame. Use 3/4 plywood for the front. Cut an opening in the plywood big enough to fit an a/c into and one at the bottom for a drip pan. The a/c will still be in your apartment and not a threat to anyone on the street. But the hot air from the a/c will go out the window and it will cool your apartment. The price of the wood and some paint to make it look nice shouldn't be that much. Use screws to put it together and in the fall you can take it apart and store it for next year. good luck
p.s. You should make the bottom of the box wider for added stability. You don't want the box to fall over easily make sure it's stable before you put the a/c in it.
Get acouple of box fans and turn them facing the wrong way... That will suck the hot air out of the apt. You can also try getting a portable a/c unit it does not go in a window it's on wheels and you can move it from room to room.. They are a bit expensive, but I would imagine in the long run worth it... Good luck
place a fan in front of a pan of ice
take cool baths/showers frequently
go to a friends house!
spray eachother with a hose/have an ice water balloon fight
don't move around a lot.
sorry, that's all i have to offer!
try to put them in cross areas. and have two facing outside to pull hot air out.
This is what I did as a chiled living with my grandparents.
Every night I would have a fan in the window pulling in the cool air, Then during the day i would turn the fan OFF. I kept the door closed traping in the cool air.
Not perfect, but its defiantly an improvement. at least for a small period of time.. an apartment is bigger. maby take out the fan and close the window to hold in more cool air.
Next time, buy a house. my 45K house will cost me aprox 400 per month. be an energy hog and youll pay the same in electricity. water is like 15 a month, gas is about the same.
its pretty much the same ammount of money to rent, and buy a small appartment,
Look into prices and what a mortgage will cost, ask around people in your area about how much their utilities cost.
keep in mind electricity will only increase if you increase your devices, keep stuff off and they dont use electricity.
I am not sure if you live where it is humid or arid. If the humidity is not too bad you can get a portable evaporative cooler. They are not very expensive. The water usually lasts for about 2 hours before you have to add more.
If it is too humid, opening up at night and shutting down in the cool of the morning.
They sell window shade deals that are black plastic like sheets that you put on the windows. we put them in my kitchen on a big glass door and the change was immense so if you try that on your windows it may help. also if you have doors to warmer places in the house you should weather strip around it to block heat from coming in. if you have access to the basement you should open up a way for air to travel from the basement to where you are at by way of the ceiling fan.
how about a portable ac unit? just type in to google should get something out off it. Good luck
More Related Questions & Answers...