Use passive cooling - brittag/maintenance GitHub Wiki
| Aspect | Info |
|---|---|
| Context | Residence |
| Date started | Summer 2023 |
| Date finished | |
| Status | Waiting for summer |
| Summary of outcome | Improved, not great yet |
Background
Household is in a place that gets hot sometimes (although usually not very humid when hot), and the residents work from home.
Problem
The home does not have air conditioning other than a window unit that is loud and uses a lot of electricity. Home needs to stay as cool as possible without using that unit.
Approach
Useful resources:
- Australian government guide to passive cooling
- Video about best fan placement to move air through the house
Things that have seemed to help during hot weather:
- Put reflective insulating material (from pandemic-era grocery delivery boxes) in south-facing windows to block the sun
- Have some decent-quality thermometers in the home to help evaluate whether outdoor or indoor temperatures are warmer
- When the outside is cooler than inside (typically between 5 pm and 10 am):
- Open windows
- Turn on strategically-placed fans
- Turn on bathroom fan to try to suck in additional outside air
- Open exterior door for additional airflow when possible
- When the inside is cooler than outside but still pretty warm:
- Turn on overhead fan to improve comfort
- Mostly keep bathroom fan off to minimize intake of outside air
Outcome
It's a bit of work to do every day, but it helps.
Next steps
We have a bunch of additional things we could try, including improving weatherproofing for doors and windows.