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Keeping Your Apartment Cool in the Summer Time?

Posted by Cliff on from the keeping-your-air-temp-in-the-comfort-zone dept.

uvince asks: "Sure, the air is on all day at work, but when you are at home and it warms up (as the west coast is now) what do you do when a fan just won't cut it? Do you install a swamp cooler, set out a standing air conditioner, or install some air conditioner that fits in the window. How can I keep my apartment, or at least my bedroom cool? Anyone have any creative, green ideas?"

1 of 182 comments (clear)

  1. Evaporative cooling? by Smidge204 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    If humidity is really low in your area (which, if you live on the coast, is probably NOT the case!) A simple evaporative cooler can run with a supply of water and very little (or possibly no) electricity.

    The idea is that water has to absorb heat form it's surroundings when it evaporates, like sweat absorbs heat from the body. But if there's no other source of heat, it will absorb it from the air. The water doesn't even need to be all that cold, though cold water will obviously absorb more heat.

    All you need is some way to expose the water to air. One suggestion would be to build an "evaporator" out of brown corregated carboard, use a small pump to trickle water over it and a small fan to draw air through it.

    If you can build a tall "stack" and place the evaporator at the top, you can take advantage of natural convection to eliminate the fan. (Cold, denser air drops down stack, pulling in more air through the evaporator)

    If you can get the materials just right, and/or have a pressurized source of water (house main), you can take advantage of capillary action/mains pressure to eliminate the pump.

    Silent and green. Too bad it doesn't work in humid regions!
    =Smidge=