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Ask YC: How do you keep your place cool in hot weather?
I live in an apartment, its getting really hot. I am not going to invest in an AC. I have bunch of fans and so far its setup for corss ventilation. Any other tricks you guys have to keep your self cool. Hot weather is very distracting and energy draining.
- asnyder 18y agoWhy aren't you going to invest in an AC? They can be had for as low as $100 nowadays. You can even spend a few dollars more and get one that's very energy efficient. Seems like the smart move to me.
- lyime 18y agoPlease find me portable ACs for <$100. I dont think i can install a AC in my window.
- rrival 18y agoCraigslist?
- mattmaroon 18y agoEven if it costs $200, it's well worth it for the productivity you gain. You'll make that back in a week.
- keating 18y agoPortable ACs tend not to actually... work.
- lyime 18y agoOk I bought an AC!
- annoyed 18y agoassuming you live in the bay area: sleep all day and work at night
- technoguyrob 18y agoReduced melatonin production has been proposed as a likely factor in the significantly higher cancer rates in night workers,[28] and the effect of modern lighting practice on endogenous melatonin has been proposed as a contributory factor to the larger overall incidence of some cancers in the developed world.[29] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melatonin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melatonin
- rms 18y agoFortunately you can buy Melatonin in pill form at your local drug store. 3mg pills are common, a doctor would recommend taking 1mg because that is closer to a natural dose. Side effects include vivid, lucid dreams...
- annoyed 18y agohave you personally experienced this?
- AndyKelley 18y agoCancers caused by UV exposure may be prevented by avoiding exposure to sunlight or other UV sources.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skin_cancer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skin_cancer
- keating 18y ago> proposed Being the key word. I think the more likely explanation is night workers eat more junk food since all the normal places are closed. They don't grab a salad, they grab drive-thru or donuts or similar all-night crud. Day workers do that too, sure, but not exclusively.
- iamelgringo 18y agoTell me about it, I've worked nights for 15 years. My life expectancy is about 10 years less than someone who works days.
- fish 18y ago
- chaostheory 18y agohttp://www.gmilburn.ca/ac/pete_ac.html http://www.gmilburn.ca/ac/pete_ac.html http://www.everythingusb.com/diy_usb_air-conditioning_13207.html http://www.everythingusb.com/diy_usb_air-conditioning_13207.... http://www.instructables.com/id/Free-Air-Conditioning/ http://www.instructables.com/id/Free-Air-Conditioning/
- lyime 18y agoThats pretty cool. Those look like fun DIY projects, although very time consuming.
- chaostheory 18y agothe 1st one isn't very time consuming, though you can probably come up with a more simple variation of the bucket of ice/water + pipe(s) + fan setup
- SwellJoe 18y agoMy ghetto/redneck solution is a towel with the end dipped in a bucket or tub or sink hanging an inch or two from the intake of the fan. As the water evaporates (and cools) more is drawn up into the towel via the wick effect. Definitely not as fabulous as an elaborate system of ropes and pulleys seen in those fine examples of ingenuity, but it works and allows me to be very lazy.
- anewaccountname 18y agoThe cooling effect of evaporation doesn't affect the vapors, infact it is just the opposite, it only cools the body from which they are evaporating. All you are doing is making your area more humid, thus making your sweat less effective.
- SwellJoe 18y agoOK, Mr. Science. Now I'm confused. Again. However, I just stuck my hand in front of the fan, and I believe my experimental method is sound. If you have trouble reproducing my results, let me know. I'll have my landlord fix the physics in my house and try again. (Or, you could add the cooler temperature of the water in the basin to the calculations in your model.)
- run4yourlives 18y agoInvesting in AC. :-) It's well worth it in productivity costs alone. Even one of those portable units that you can park next to your window works wonders.
- blogimus 18y agoCan I assume that you (lyime) have at least one computer in your apartment and that you have it on most of the time? I hate pointing our the obvious, but excessive heat is not good for computers. If you are not comfortable there, you could risk baking your cpu.
- lyime 18y agoWell my machine is properly cooled. I built my own machine, so picking the right cooling for my case/cpu/gpu was my number one priority :) You are totally right though.
- deleted 18y ago[deleted]
- NonEUCitizen 18y agoGo to the public library.
- technoguyrob 18y agoWhat a coincidence, I was interested in this very question just yesterday! Here's the best I found: http://www.wikihow.com/Cool-Yourself-Without-Air-Conditioning http://www.wikihow.com/Cool-Yourself-Without-Air-Conditionin...
- xlnt 18y agodid you reply to that particular comment just to get to the top of the thread?
- deleted 18y ago[deleted]
- xlnt 18y agodon't post with the wrong parent!
- hooande 18y agoWindow unit AC?
- SwellJoe 18y agoI moved from Texas to the valley in winter of last year, and was stunned to find that a lot of places (a majority?) don't have AC, including the house I rented. But, the fact is it's not too bad. Yesterday and today were pretty toasty, but after the long winter (I'm from Texas...the bay area is cold in contrast), it's kind of a relief. I have a swamp cooler in the bath tub with a fan blowing out into the rest of the house. I'm running the vaporizer that I bought when I got a nasty sore throat and head cold a couple of months back--a cool mist drizzling over me all day is pretty sweet...actually, I think it's better than AC, but I might be weird. And, of course, all the windows and doors are open (after about noon when the house has heated up to be warmer than outside--since it cools down a lot at night) to maximize the breeze. And, as others have pointed out, there are other places to go. Coffee shops often have AC. Libraries always do. Sitting under a tree in the park is probably cooler than your apartment by 10 degrees, and pretty girls (or boys, depending on your preference) might walk by once in a while. Or you could buy a window unit. I made it through last summer without too much discomfort, so I'll probably skip AC this year as well.
- DaniFong 18y agoWork where there's a breeze and shade. 3g is roughly the same cost as AC/heating these days.
- edw519 18y agoEat cool melon and nothing else.
- rkowalick 18y agoIf you already have a cross ventilation setup, that's pretty close to the limit of how nice your place can be without AC. One thing you can do improve the effectiveness of your setup is to work where all the airflow is going on. Place your desk in between the air coming in and the air going out so you can directly benefit from the flow.
- parenthesis 18y agoWear few, or no clothes. Drink cold drinks. Take cold showers. Soak feet, hands in cold water. Keep all the doors (internal, I mean) open. Open windows. Using air con only adds to global warming.
- pmjordan 18y agoI tend to soak 2 towels in cold water and wrap them around my torso and legs, respectively. Repeat every few hours. In REALLY hot weather, frequently take very short showers with your clothes on. Luckily the place I'm living at has a basement, which stays cool even in summer, so those methods aren't necessary.
- attack 18y agoGet a de-humidifier. They are cheaper than AC, much more convenient, and usually just as effective.
- eyudkowsky 18y agoHad this problem once here. Got a portable AC. Next time I moved, I made sure I had (central!) AC. I think if you're working from home in the Bay Area, it's not really optional - maybe it used to be, but not any more.
- jward 18y agoI spent a summer working in a kitchen without AC. The trick I learned to survive it is to get two dish towels and soak them in water. Wring them mostly out and put them in the freezer. Wait a few hours and take one out and wrap it around your neck. The blood flowing through your neck cools down and cools your entire body very well. The reason for two is to alternate throughout the day.
- Prrometheus 18y agoAir Conditioning is one of the great modern inventions. It is what separates us from the rest of the apes. Living without AC is like living without plumbing - sure you can do it, but why would you want to?
- bigtoga 18y agoWhy not move to a place that has A/C pre-installed - is that an option? I know that in some cities you're pretty much stuck with window units or nothing.
- mhb 18y agoIf you revealed why you aren't going to get an air conditioner maybe it would lead to more relevant suggestions. Money? Environmental concerns? Too difficult to install? Something else?
- pistoriusp 18y agoHow hot is it?