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June 24, 2005
Hot-weather drill
We have family who don't like to visit us in the summer cuz we don't have AC. And it's true; it can get pretty hot in upstate NY in the summer. But that's usually only for 6 weeks at the most, and BP and I both dislike AC, even the new environmentally friendly versions. So instead we have two enormous ventilator fans, one for each floor of the house; those suckers can really get the air a-movin. We also have ceiling fans in several upstairs rooms, along with a couple of floor fans that can be moved to specific distress areas.
Last night began this summer's hot-weather drill: open up the house at night (we have upwards of 20 windows) and turn on all those fans. Then in the morning, turn off the fans, close the windows, and lower the shades. Hang the laundry on the line instead of running the dryer; set the dishwasher to run in the middle of the night; use the microwave, salads, and takeout instead of cooking, like, roasts and hams. It works pretty well. There are usually 3 or 4 days where only megaAC would do the trick, but we just soldier through those.
Sounds pretty arcane, I spose, but it pleases us. We are in love with our enormous old house and its kharma. To install AC would be to make our house a 21st-century imitation of a 19th-century house, something akin to those McMansions that hulk along suburban streets.
Which does not mean you won't hear me bitching when the temperature hits the mid-nineties. Which it's forecast to do today and tomorrow.
Posted by senioritis at June 24, 2005 08:27 AM
Comments
I learned the "close the windows during the day trick" from my neighbor.
It really does work, too.
And the most luv-erly thing about CNY is that no matter how hot it gets during the day, it is (nearly) always cool-ish at night.
Which is very different from SE VA (and points S), where the night brings nothing but muggy darkness.
Posted by: madeline at June 25, 2005 09:52 AM
Works like crazy, as long as it cools off at night (which it usually does hereabouts). Right now it's 87° outside, 68° inside :)
Posted by: sernioritis at June 25, 2005 03:00 PM