excessive heat, how do you protect your house during a heat wave?

[Poppy]

I suppose that those of us who live in areas of the country that sees excessive periods of heat, have our homes pretty well insulated. When temperatures reach over 95F air conditioners typically strain to keep up with the heat gain.
Do you take extra precautions to reduce heat gain?

For example in my house, I use the Gila window spray solution, sold for application of window film, and mylar emergency blankets to reflect the sun's energy away from my interior.

The blankets are currently about $3 and will cover a few windows. It really makes a significant difference in reducing solar gain.

 

[IMA SOL MAN]

Keep the insulated drapes shut. Do not use the oven. Cut back on the use of hot water (example, wash laundry with cold water only). Hang wet laundry outside to dry rather than use the dryer. Cook with the microwave oven instead of the stove top. Change or clean the AC filter(s). Run fans in rooms people are in. Spend time in the basement as it is usually the coolest area in the house. Limit opening the doors as much as possible. Put off testing flamethrower flashlights until after dark when it is cooler.

 

[idleprocess]

I work from home most days of the week and work in a second floor office directly above the garage with western and southern exposure. I took a brute-force approach:

• Insulated the west-facing garage door with 2 layers of ½" polystyrene foam (nominal R2)
• Inserted 2 layers of 1" polystyrene foam (nominal R4) into the west-facing office window

The latter mod isn't exactly pretty but makes a significant difference (because of the solar screens acting as a polarizer of sorts I didn't much look out that window anyway). Contemplating a third layer of insulation for both and a gasket for the garage door to limit air circulation.

 

[orbital]

+

How do you get the window spay off?

I have a dehumidifier in the basement and then run the blower fan for a while (circulating the 'dried' air)
helps alot, but you have to then keep the house closed or it's a waste.

It's a wicked heat wave, I close my blinds during the day.

>>> add: I manually pour the full dehumidifier bucket down the drain, then repeat.

 

[Chauncey Gardiner]

I purchased some one-inch vinyl mini blinds and installed them on the exterior side of our southern and western-facing windows. I keep them adjusted so we can still see through the windows, but the sun's rays are 100% reflected. Then when it's cloudy or raining I collapse them for an unobstructed view. L@@K at the big brain on CG! 😄

Edit: I did the same thing for my mother at her house.

The blinds also protect the 45-year-old window trim I recently refurbished.

 

[IMA SOL MAN]

I purchased some one-inch vinyl mini blinds and installed them on the exterior side of our southern and western-facing windows. I keep them adjusted so we can still see through the windows, but the sun's rays are 100% reflected. Then when it's cloudy or raining I collapse them for an unobstructed view. L@@K at the big brain on CG! 😄

Edit: I did the same thing for my mother at her house.

View attachment 45474

The blinds also protect the 45-year-old window trim I recently refurbished.View attachment 45475

I don't know if you can still get metal Venetian blinds, but they last a lot better than the vinyl. The vinyl will eventually decay under the sunlight, discolor and warp.

 

[Poppy]

+

How do you get the window spay off?

I have a dehumidifier in the basement and then run the blower fan for a while (circulating the 'dried' air)
helps alot, but you have to then keep the house closed or it's a waste.

It's a wicked heat wave, I close my blinds during the day.

>>> add: I manually pour the full dehumidifier bucket down the drain, then repeat.

@orbital
I don't recall having to do anything to remove the spray. If anything, I used windex. The spray I guess creates a static cling. At the end of the season, the mylar just pulls off, without any effort.

I imagine that a spray of water may work just as well. I had purchased some of the more expensive mirrored but see through film, and I bought the installation spray for it. There was plenty of it left over.

 

[bykfixer]

Metal blade blinds conduct heat more readily than plastic ones.

One thing I've noted over the years is it seems that interior air at windows is less affected by outside temperature, be it hot or cold if you twist mini blind blades inside up, outside down. Turning the outside up, inside down seems to me to allow outside temperatures to creep past mini blinds more readily. Never tried a heat gun to confirm, though.

Our home has 3 layers of window treatment. Miniblinds, shear curtains and curtains. Privacy shades are good insulators too.

When lounging sit on the lowest furniture in the room. It's cooler at floor level than ceiling level.

Wear thin, loose fitting cloths. I like open weave cotton like dress shirts vs a close knot cotton t-shirts when idle. Now if the AC is out or moving about like for housework, a closer weave cotton will hold moisture longer so moving about causes a cool breeze while it's wet.

A moist wash cloth across the back of the neck helps.

Eat light, easy to digest meals vs heavy hard to digest kind. Avoid fried foods.

Do chores in the morning or evening. Try moving less in the peak heat period.

When I was a lad the upstairs was not climate controlled. Dual direction fans made sure incoming air was from the cool side of the house, outgoing to the hot side in summer. To this day I struggle to sleep without the din of a fan going in summer.

 

[Poppy]

+

How do you get the window spay off?

I have a dehumidifier in the basement and then run the blower fan for a while (circulating the 'dried' air)
helps alot, but you have to then keep the house closed or it's a waste.

It's a wicked heat wave, I close my blinds during the day.

>>> add: I manually pour the full dehumidifier bucket down the drain, then repeat.

Regarding the use of a dehumidifier, I suggest that you get one that can cycle on and off depending upon the humidity setting. While a dehumidifier is running, it creates heat. It is like an air conditioner, in that it has two coils, a condenser coil that gets hot, and an evaporative coil that gets cold and condensates water out of the air. It makes a little more heat than cold, so the net gain is in heat.

Now I'm making up the numbers, but it may be able to drop the relative humidity from 80% to 60% relatively easily/quickly, but to drop the humidity from 50% to 30%, it may have to run for hours, maybe continually. The decrease in humidity, may not compensate for the increased calories in comfort.

 

[Jean-Luc Descarte]

Where I live, residences are made to wick away heat as much as possible. We have big windows, architecture that favors air flow, and zero insulation. Houses usually have clay roof tiles that absorb water when it rains, and over time it evaporates, taking away the heat within.

In my specific region, when it gets hot, it also gets dry. 50-30% (night-day) humidity during most days, 35-8% on bad ones. So to fight off the heat, we turn on the fans, set humidifiers to high, and hang wet laundry and towels indoors.

 

[SYZYGY]

having a white roof helps.

 

[orbital]

Regarding the use of a dehumidifier, I suggest that you get one that can cycle on and off depending upon the humidity setting. While a dehumidifier is running, it creates heat. It is like an air conditioner, in that it has two coils, a condenser coil that gets hot, and an evaporative coil that gets cold and condensates water out of the air. It makes a little more heat than cold, so the net gain is in heat.

Now I'm making up the numbers, but it may be able to drop the relative humidity from 80% to 60% relatively easily/quickly, but to drop the humidity from 50% to 30%, it may have to run for hours, maybe continually. The decrease in humidity, may not compensate for the increased calories in comfort.

+

Depending on the humidity, my Frigidaire turns off/cycles.
I should have stated that I don't run if constantly, may shut it off for a day or so.

There's no free lunch, but the drier home conditions far make up for the small added dehumidifier heat, in my cooler basement.
If I do run my AC unit, I only need to run it a little bit since it's already much lower humidity in the house already..
...and the house cools down faster since it's not cooling tons of water vapor.

 

[Stress_Test]

Well, I live in an old apartment ('70s vintage) so there's not much I can do regarding the building itself. The insulation has probably all long since gone to dust. It's a two-level setup and the upstairs gets really hot on sunny summer days.

I did the "space blanket" silver tarp thing on the south-facing bedroom window. Had to put it on the interior side of the blinds though, since the apt. people gigged me for having the silver sheet against the glass. (apparently they want "uniform" outside appearance... but at another building they never made the people there take down the giant "BLM" blanket that hung in the window for a couple of years. But I digress.)

Needless to say, the air conditioning is pitifully undersized for the heat load on the upstairs bedrooms. I don't even bother running it during the day. I've got a couple of good fans that I use to redistribute the air (and sit in front of). I run the AC after the sun has gone down to cool off the room before bed.

When it's REALLY hot then I have resorted to using plastic bottles frozen full of ice on myself to cool down. Makes a big difference just to tuck that block of ice under your arm against your ribs for a few minutes at a time.

We've got ~100 degree temps forecast to come soon, so I'll be putting this stuff to the test again! hah.

I just hope the power stays on. NO ONE around me has any notion of conserving during the day. Bunch of pansies. There have been days where it's only like 70 or 72 degrees outside yet I hear everyone's air conditioning running all day. I sure wish people would learn to deal with a little discomfort.

At work, I once saw a 30-ish woman that remote-started her SUV (apparently while she was still in the building) and it sat there running for several minutes. I had just got in my car and it startled me when the thing cranked up by itself. I could hear the AC cycling. Out of curiosity I sat and waited. Several minutes went by then I saw the woman come out of the office building, walk the ~80 yard distance (I measured later), and get in the vehicle and drive away. I thought "Heaven forbid a single drop of sweat should fall from your brow as you walk from your air-conditioned office building and get in your vehicle to drive home!"

 

[Poppy]

When it is really hot, I'll sometimes hose down the condenser coil of my AC unit. The water comes out of the ground cooler than the ambient air, and as it evaporates on the condenser fins, it pulls many more calories out of the unit.

If water is not a problem, I'll occasionally hose down my roof. I really don't know how much that helps.

 

[Poppy]

At work, I once saw a 30-ish woman that remote-started her SUV (apparently while she was still in the building) and it sat there running for several minutes. I had just got in my car and it startled me when the thing cranked up by itself. I could hear the AC cycling. Out of curiosity I sat and waited.

I use one of these windshield solar panels in my car. I don't know if it keeps the temperature in the car any lower for more than 20 minutes, but it does protect the dashboard from getting hot enough to fry an egg. That allows the AC to cool the car quicker. Otherwise the dashboard gets hot and acts like a radiator throwing lots of heat into the car until the AC can cool it, and the ductwork, down.

When I don't want to bother with the solar panel, I'll throw a white towel onto the dash. That helps too.

 

[raggie33]

worked at a place once that was cooled by a swamp cooler it was nice if you live in dry area

 

[Poppy]

worked at a place once that was cooled by a swamp cooler it was nice if you live in dry area

I wonder if they'll be getting outlawed in parts of the South West.

 

[Jean-Luc Descarte]

I use one of these windshield solar panels in my car. I don't know if it keeps the temperature in the car any lower for more than 20 minutes, but it does protect the dashboard from getting hot enough to fry an egg. That allows the AC to cool the car quicker. Otherwise the dashboard gets hot and acts like a radiator throwing lots of heat into the car until the AC can cool it, and the ductwork, down.

View attachment 45510

When I don't want to bother with the solar panel, I'll throw a white towel onto the dash. That helps too.

I have one of those. Trust me, it helps A LOT, moreso if your garage spot is open-air. If I don't put it on the car, especially now that the sun is inclined so far north that it hits my windshield at a practically 90° angle, it's not just the dashboard, the steering wheel and seats become intolerably hot.

Although mine has suction cups to attach it to the windshield itself so it stays flush with the glass. Makes a tremendous difference.

 

[Jean-Luc Descarte]

worked at a place once that was cooled by a swamp cooler it was nice if you live in dry area

In my turf, I much prefer those to air conditioners.

 

[bykfixer]

I just read about a personal space cooler called artic air pure chill. Seems like a portable fan that blows cool air for about $40.