Comments | kettunainen: yay for clouds!

kettunainen

yay for clouds!

Jun 27, 2007 12:50

There has been a yucky heatwave for the past few days (32-35*C + humidity) and a thunderstorm is supposed to come and make it all better later today. The sky has already clouded up. Yay!

Here are some things I am grateful for:

clouds, especially the rain-bringing sort

trees close to the house that provide shade

cross-ventilation

breezes

fans

( Read more... )

sustainability, conscious consumption, environment, energy conservation

Comments 12

(The comment has been removed)

kettunainen June 29 2007, 05:31:23 UTC

When N. was cleaning the living room windows a few weeks ago, he discovered that they *used* to be able to be lowered from the top, as well as raised from the bottom -- so as to let the heat from the top of the room escape. Unfortunately, the storm windows that were installed (who knows when) effectively blocked the top-of-the-window access to ventilation. :(

If the heat does its thing again, I'll be grabbing my sarongs and seeing how well those work. I was mostly making do with a cold, wet washcloth and sitting under the ceiling fan.

I am so so grateful for the break in the heat!

roxy_fondue June 27 2007, 17:46:02 UTC

and here i just posted about how much i love my window ac. oops! :)

you're right on all accounts. using ac has put us into this downward spiral, hasn't it? i am going to try my best to use it as sparingly as possible. and props to you for going without! if anyone deserves some conditioned air right now, it's you!

thewronghands June 27 2007, 19:08:26 UTC

I know! I'm sitting here being ashamed of my air conditioner usage... I'm a little further south, but I'm not pregnant. [goes and turns it off, guiltily]

kettunainen June 29 2007, 05:35:32 UTC

Don't know what the weather's been like for you, but from what M. tells me, summers in MD are typically 90-100* with the same percentage of humidity. And sometimes there are breezes! If that's the case, then judicious use of the AC should be fine, if that's all you have (i.e. no good ventilation, no breezes, no respite from the heat at night, etc.). I grew up with summers like that. Thankfully, we had an attic fan... and I spontaneously learned bio-feedback, in order to get myself to cool off enough to sleep.

heraldofchaos June 27 2007, 20:51:57 UTC

amusingly, my computer sucks more power and generates more heat than my air conditioner does.

;)

kettunainen June 29 2007, 05:38:10 UTC

but does your computer vent to the outdoors like your AC does? Which is to say, are you making it hotter outside for the rest of us, hotter inside for yourself (requiring more AC use), or both?

eumelosdrizzle June 27 2007, 21:04:12 UTC

We caved this year and bought an AC... but we are using it responsibly - its off during the day, and we got a really good model for energy efficiency.

kettunainen June 29 2007, 05:52:04 UTC

yeah, you mentioned that when R was visiting. But you also mentioned how awful your apartment is for cross-ventilation and heat control.

I know you have plants, though I don't know if they're indoor or balcony plants. If outdoor, then (and I have no idea if you're already doing this) you may want to keep the blinds to your western-facing windows down while you're away to help minimize sun exposure, which would automatically minimize use of AC.

feonixrift June 27 2007, 23:18:38 UTC

I've tried to make this place function without AC... I'd have to do things to the West-facing windows that the apartment managers would get mad at me for. There's just no way, it heats up too fast for opening at night to keep up enough for fans to do the rest. I end up hiding under an ice pack even with the AC.

Works great in places that're built for it. I want an adobe.