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No discussion of solar-powered solutions. I once had a house with solar-powered attic exhaust fans. They only came on during hot days and rapidly cooled the ho

No discussion of solar-powered solutions. I once had a house with solar-powered attic exhaust fans. They only came on during hot days and rapidly cooled the house a few degrees when they did. Zero maintenance and they didnt even need to be wired. What we need are small DC air conditioning units that can be powered directly by solar panels without the hassle of batteries or inverters.

mglz 3y ago
Small split evaporative coolers can provide AC to a room and run on a single panel. Easy to make too.
- friend_and_foe 3y ago
  Evaporative cooling only works in low humidity environments, in which sweating is also effective, and raise the indoor relative humidity to 100%. Also you need water and lots of it, the more water you can evaporate the better. Evaporative coolers IMO are less effective than open ventilation and shade.
ricardobeat 3y ago
And maybe design cities so they are not an endless patchwork of concrete and roofs? That heat has to go somewhere.
a1o 3y ago
That is a really cool idea! I want to try this at some point!! The idea of the solar-powered attic exhaust sounds nice, searching for Solar Attic Fans finds me some interesting products on some shops! Had never thought about looking for it.
- sandworm101 3y ago
  Also look into products for RVs. They are always looking for easy-to-install solar solutions. My advice would be to not put the fans on the roof, but somewhere sheltered like a gable end so you dont need to worry about waterproofing.
  - a1o 3y ago
    Ah, good idea! I saw some products for RVs and they are indeed compact and basically require just 4 screws and you are done, pretty sweet.
Simulacra 3y ago
My friend has this wonderful home automation set up. When it's in the high 60s and low 70s, his HVAC will shut off. Then actuators on his windows will push them open to let in the cool air. Then when the temperature drops too low, the windows close and the HVAC comes back on. It's not elegant, but I love the solution.

mglz 3y ago

Small split evaporative coolers can provide AC to a room and run on a single panel. Easy to make too.

friend_and_foe 3y ago
Evaporative cooling only works in low humidity environments, in which sweating is also effective, and raise the indoor relative humidity to 100%. Also you need water and lots of it, the more water you can evaporate the better. Evaporative coolers IMO are less effective than open ventilation and shade.

ricardobeat 3y ago

And maybe design cities so they are not an endless patchwork of concrete and roofs? That heat has to go somewhere.

a1o 3y ago

That is a really cool idea! I want to try this at some point!! The idea of the solar-powered attic exhaust sounds nice, searching for Solar Attic Fans finds me some interesting products on some shops! Had never thought about looking for it.

sandworm101 3y ago
Also look into products for RVs. They are always looking for easy-to-install solar solutions. My advice would be to not put the fans on the roof, but somewhere sheltered like a gable end so you dont need to worry about waterproofing.
- a1o 3y ago
  Ah, good idea! I saw some products for RVs and they are indeed compact and basically require just 4 screws and you are done, pretty sweet.

Simulacra 3y ago

My friend has this wonderful home automation set up. When it's in the high 60s and low 70s, his HVAC will shut off. Then actuators on his windows will push them open to let in the cool air. Then when the temperature drops too low, the windows close and the HVAC comes back on. It's not elegant, but I love the solution.