Cool Your House In Summer - GF Radio 347

We talk about how to cool your house in summer on GardenFork Radio, reducing your use of air conditioning and lowering the electric bill. And we talk about baking with the no knead bread recipe first, but most of the show is devoted to methods to cool your house in the summer heat.

We asked on the GardenFork Facebook Page for fans to tell us their methods to cool your house, and we got a ton of responses. Neat.

Cool Your House Tips from our Facebook Page:

‪Ginger‬ My great-Uncle Tom, who lived in Thorp WI, used to keep the shades drawn accept for about 3inches on both top & bottom - then he would crack the window that width too -- it would let the breeze in but allow the hotter air out. Don't remember ever seeing an AC in his house or even a fan. Sometimes it was cool enough to put a shawl on

‪Stacy‬ I open all my windows at night to let the cool air in, then keep them closed and blinds/curtains closed during the day. House will stay noticeably cooler than the outside on most days.

‪Kevin‬ Open all the windows at night to cool the house, then close them during the day. Assuming nighttime is cool:)

‪Mike‬ Setting the thermostat to run on "fan" instead of "auto". It helps balance the house out. Helps with hot second story and freezing cold basement.

‪Tim‬ Saw this DIY AC option the other day. ‪https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZF0J8OvDSmM‬

‪Glen‬ I don't have air conditioning in my house so I run flexible duct from my basement into an old heating vent in my house and blow the cool air from my basement into my first floor.

‪Alicia ‬ Trees. From the first year we moved into this home, I have been planting beautiful trees all around my house to give us beautiful shade.

‪Sharon ‬ Keep doors and windows closed close all blinds & cutains.Use fans as much as possible. Invest in a pool or go to a pool to cool off in during the day.install attic vents to let hot air out.when replacing a roof use a light colored shingles

‪Natural‬ i found that drinking lots of water i don't feel as hot, i feel cooler. It works living here in Arizona.

‪Debbie‬ Close yr curtains during the heat of the day.

‪Craig Smith‬ I also keep window film in place year round, crappy cheap apartment windows leak energy. White shades inside frame are closed, film over frame box inside makes good thermal barrier.

‪Craig‬ Do as much cooking as you can outside. Heat from appliances has only one place to go, into your living space. It doesn't just disappear, laws of thermodynamics and such.

‪Debra Hey‬ Swamp coolers are used often here in Wyoming , but we live in an 4 plex and use a window A.C

‪Alice‬ Hi Eric. We have box fans in windows on the east side and on the west side of the house. When the sun is on the west side of the house, the fans on the east side are on bringing in shaded cooler air. And vice versa for the other side of the house. Plus we have put up a tinted cling film to help keep the sun from penetrating into the house.

‪Rotty Angel‬ As landlords for commercial tenants, during really bad heat waves, we always tell people to NOT turn off the a/c when they go home at night. It takes a lot of power to crank up the a/c after it's been off all night and it has to work really hard to get back to a comfortable temperature. Also, we tell them to keep the blinds drawn during the day.

‪Brittany‬ Try not to cook meals inside! Either cook on the grill, or a slow cooker. Or make some healthy non-cooked meals! Definitely helps at my house.

‪Julia‬ What really REALLY worked was installing a geothermal HVAC system, but that was a pretty big investment.

‪Julia ‬ In Wisconsin, we installed a whole house fan. It drew air up and out of the house. Combined with increased insulation, we could fill up the house with cool air in the night/early morning and then close all the windows and shades.

‪Romana‬ We keep our blackout blinds closed and have a retractable awning. Also use ceiling fans.