Keeping Cool this Summer?

More info from the 29 July 2004 column

The Lexington Green (29 July 2004)

Keeping Cool this Summer?

This has been an unusually cool summer so far, but no doubt the temp will soon be rising. When it's hot in New England, it's almost always very humid. Pretty soon we'll be treated to that familiar refrain:

"Hot enough for ya?"

"Well, it's not so much the heat as the humidity."

Just like a lot of folk wisdom, this actually is very true. When it's hot, our bodies keep cool by evaporating water through our skin. In high humidity, this evaporation system doesn't work as well, and we feel hotter.

When we think of keeping cool on those hot summer days, we often think "air conditioning" whether it’s in our house, at work, or in our vehicles. But before jacking up the a/c, there are actually a few things you can do to keep cool while saving energy, saving money, and cutting down on the related pollution of producing this energy, such as:

Installing and using ceiling and window fans: Cheaper to run than air conditioners, fans help your body's natural cooling mechanisms. Especially at night, when the outside air cools off, window fans do a great job cooling off the house and creating comfortable sleeping conditions.
Dress cool: wear loose fitting, light colored clothing
Drink water: a glass of water or other non-caffeinated, non-alcoholic drink every hour or so keeps your body's cooling system fueled up. Even if you aren't sweating, if it's hot, you're evaporating water. Don't wait until you're thirsty.
Reduce humidity/heat when running appliances: don't unnecessarily add humidity and heat to the air by running the dishwasher, clothes washer and dryer, or taking long showers during the hottest part of the day. Also, consider using your microwave or BBQ for cooking instead of the stove top or oven.

Once the air inside the house is as hot as the air outside, there isn't much you can do to cool it off without an air conditioner. The goal is to keep the cool air in and the hot sun out. Pull the shades in the sunny windows during the hot parts of the day, plant shade trees to cast shadows on the roof and south and west facing windows. The air under a tree can be 10 degrees cooler.

Make sure you have good insulation in your upper floors. Insulation not only keeps heat inside in winter, it also keeps heat out in summer. Keep your attic or upper floors ventilated. When the air is cooler inside than out, window fans can keep the sun from heating up the upper floors of your house. When the air is cooler outside than in, window fans can pull cooler air in.

If you do use an air conditioner, there are many things you can do to use less energy and cut electricity costs. Try some of the tricks outlined above to feel cooler and inch up your thermostat a couple of degrees at a time. Each degree higher moves the electricity bill lower. If you are in the market for a new air conditioner, get an efficient one. There are rebates from NSTAR for ENERGY STAR rated ones. See http://www.myenergystar.com/product.asp?producttype=1&tab=3.

Also, be sure to get an air conditioner that is the correct size for the space you are cooling. If you get one that is too big, you may cool the room faster, but you don't get as much water out of the air. And as we said before, cutting humidity is the name of the game. For example, running your appliances (dishwasher, washing machine) in the evenings not only reduces heat build up in your home during the day, but also helps to reduce demand on the electricity system in New England, which during peak summer hours, if overloaded, can lead to power outages—as well as higher energy costs for everyone.

For more information on keeping cool this summer, check out these websites. You can also find these and other links on the Sustainable Lexington website referenced below:

http://www.aceee.org/press/mostlist.htm

http://www.aceee.org/press/0405mosteeappl.htm

http://www.consumerfed.org/saveenv.pdf

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/GMA/Hazelton/gma020717_ron_heat_feature.html

For more information on Sustainable Lexington, or if you are interested in joining our group, please visit our website at www.geocities.com/SustainableLexington or email us at SustainableLexington@yahoo.com.