Hot House

Well, summer is upon us and the tricks to cool off the house each night and/or to keep them cool through the day begin. Everyone knows the main trick to open a window on the 2nd story that faces north to allow the heat to escape. Plus to open the whole house up at night to get it cooled down. But there are many who live in apartments and sometimes have west setting sun all afternoon. Or are lucky enough to only enjoy the morning sun and live on the east side of the building. I'm one of those who is lucky enough to have the morning sun come in my windows and get to enjoy 7 hours of direct afternoon sun before shade reaches my place. This sorta sounds like your place, I feel your pain! Here are some hints of items in your place to pay attention inside. First, is look at your windows; how old are they, are they single pane, are they double pane with moisture in between the glass, are they air tight, are there spaces around the edges, are there big enough gaps to allow a nice breeze thought. These may be worth covering up with plastic; yes even in the summer time. The goal is to keep the cool air in and hot air out, vice versa in the winter. The "drop cloth plastic" for painters is heavy enough to cover the windows of choice to help insulate from the outside. You can cover them up it where its up for months, or you can build a wood frame where you can remove it each night so you can open the windows at night to cool the place off. Do you have a crawl space under your place and are you lucky enough to have an opening to it to draw in the cool air that is stored down there? Keep it open all the time, if possible. No north facing windows available! Place a fan in a small window (bathroom, etc..), and have it facing out and open other doors and windows to help the cool air come in. Doing this one thing at night will make a world of difference by morning. Leave what windows/doors open you can durning the night as long as it doesn't put your safety at risk. Another one I didn't think about until just recently. Do you have forced air heat and is the duck work in the ceiling and/or attic area of the building above your head? Well, if so, close those vents and I would even go so far to cover them with plastic. It's a matter of up to 15 degrees cooler inside by mid-day and late afternoon. Attic areas are always sweltering in the summer and with the tin warming up and moving the air within them and the only place that hot air can go is through these vents. Close all doors to areas of your place that doesn't need to be cool until you get home. The wall ac unit and the power bill will thank you! Even if you have forced cool air in your place, close the vents in these room and only cool the space that needs to be cool, especially if your pets only live in one room of the house/apartment/condo while your away. Okay, finally to those mean west facing windows/doors you have. What I did was buy enough fabric to cover the windows and doors of choice to help insulate the heat. You can buy those light blocking curtains for these places, but you may want to have some natural light so you don't have to turn your lights on during the day. A nice flannel pattern of choice will help a lot. I have 2 different fabrics hanging, one is a white flannel and the other is a darker (not black) cotton fabric to help draw in the winter afternoon heat, but keep the door breeze at bay. The winter color is adding to the insulation to the flannel. I just sewed hems and button holes so they could be hung from those small removable hooks. Lastly, is the space that houses the duck work or vents to that head from the crawl space up to the attic open to a closet or hall? If it is not being used until winter, I'd cover that up with plastic too. If it is part of your cool forced air system, Do Not Mess with the venting! Leave them alone!!!!!! That is my next job to get covered up. Good luck and I hope I gave you a few ideas to help you stay cool. 6/29/12 update, my place is so much cooler with the vents covered. Made all the difference in the world!!!!