[Raptor235]

Air conditioners may offer tempting temporary relief from summer heat, but they’re a huge environmental no-no. You may be cooling your home, but the fossil fuels you’re burning in the process are only making your summers hotter. This summer, leave the air conditioner in storage and try these environmentally-friendly alternatives instead.

Insulate your home effectively. Efficient insulation, caulking, and weatherstripping will certainly keep your home warm in the winter, but they also help to keep the heat out in the summer. You can insulate from the outside, too—by shading your home with trees, shrubs, or vines. All told, well-positioned landscaping and systematic use of blinds can reduce your cooling costs by 40 per cent.You can find the entire article here http://www.aboutmyplanet.com/daily-g...he-natural-way

[Aalaia]

This is very importan info. I hate the heat and do not have air conditioning. So far on hot days I keep heavy curtains drawn and lights out. It works well.

[peachy]

If you have a spritzer and fan, that helps me to get through the hot nights. I find that if I spritz quite a bit of water on my feet, the fan makes my feet extra cool...then cooling the rest of my body. And if it's really hot, then I spritz my whole body while the fan is on.

It's like sweating...and the fan isn't nearly as bad as having an AC.

[Raptor235]

yea fans are a great way to get cool.... I want to try and put a wet towel over one to see if it feels cooler

[horselover]

I've just turned off our A/C for the night. Unfortunately we can't do the window thing as we don't have windows on opposite sides of the house.

I try not to use the A/C much though.

[Raptor235]

I also think investing in the digital scheduler for temp control is a good idea, you can easily schedule the variations and you'll never notice that you're saving on electricity.

[horselover]

Unfortunately I think our A/C runs on gas, and we don't have a digital thermostat. We can't really control it at all.

[peachy]

Well, if anybody, we know that you definitely are trying your best to use the A/C as little as possible. My friend's basement, even with windows open in Toronto is about 29 degrees Celsius down there.

I just came back from Ottawa and Winnipeg yesterday...and the humidity and heat was at times difficult to deal with. I can't imagine actually living in that type of climate.

[horselover]

Well, outside seems cool by comparison when you walk into the rubber plant I work at. It feels like it's 20 degrees hotter in there all the time.

[HazelNut]

I find closing windows and blinds in the morning and then opening everything up once the sun goes down is enough to keep my house cool....so far. When I'm desperate I retreat to the basement, always quite cool down there. Also, running a dehumidifier takes away the humidity creating the "illusion of cool". I do have central air, but haven't used it yet this year.