Keeping Cool - Frugally!

Hot? Keep Your Cool Frugally!

How can you keep cool on a budget? This post has a few ideas that will not break the bank and may help you save money on your electric bill. Please add your keeping cool; tips in the comments below.

Keeping Cool Olde School Style

Did you know Ancient Romans had air conditioning? In the summer, they would seal all their windows and doors, but open a hole in the center of their house down into a tunnel that extended under their house for 20 feet or so, to a shady spot. This underground tunnel contained air cooled by the earth. To draw cold air into the house, the Romans had a black-painted, 3 foot chimney on their roof. When the sun heated the chimney, the hot air inside the chimney (and house) would rise, and pull the earth-cooled air into their home. Since air in underground caves is 65 F year-round, this process cooled their homes considerably.

Ancient Rome - Image by Igor Schubin from Pixabay

You can adapt this ancient idea  by blowing the cool air from your basement through your duct work, or by aiming a fan up your basement steps. Alternatively, you can freeze water in water bottles, place them in a dish drainer (set atop a towel to absorb condensation), and direct a fan across the ice filled bottles.

I have used this latter method many times as a portable ait conditioner.

5 More Keeping Cool Tips

1. Turn off anything creating heat.  TV's , hot water heaters, refrigerators, etc.
2. Lay low. Heat rises, so stay low.
3. Remove anything that holds heat. Move all your mattresses, stuffed couches etc into a room and close it off.
4. Reflect the sun's rays . Put tinfoil - shiny side out on your windows.
5. Cool yourself. Put a cold cloth on the artery in your neck. This will cool the blood circulating through your body.

How are you keeping cool?
Please drop a note in the comments below.

Have a fabulous day!
Remember to pray! Things change that way!

Su

P.S. This is adapted from a post I originally wrote on DIY 4 Canada - DIY Air Conditioning
If you enjoy DIY projects, you may be interested in some of the other posts I wrote there.