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Post by clothmama on Jul 22, 2021 21:57:14 GMT 1
Close shutters and open all the doors and windows over night. This gets downstairs to overnight temps (usually low 20's). Open everything up when you get up and let any breeze come through. The second it is warmer out than in close all windows / doors and also the shutters on the side that has sun hitting (sun on windows = heat). I can keep the house low to mid 20's even when 40c+ outside. It is quite amazing walking in from outside, you would think there was aircon!
Upstairs (barn conversion) is another story, we have a ceiling fan for air, mosquito nets on the windows so they can be left open over night but even that is pretty miserable. We are currently doing our new bedroom up and we have put a reverse cycle aircon just for the hottest of nights and an ensuite toilet - can't wait to move in. We have been running the dehumidifier to help dry the plaster and even that seems to feel much cooler.
I also if I'm very hot wet my hair - gives me an hour or so of personal aircon! We go to the village pool most afternoons and I never take off my swimmers and the dampness keeps me cool while I come home do dinner / jobs etc in the evening.
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Post by manonthemoon2 on Jul 22, 2021 22:32:39 GMT 1
We did try a portable delonghi ac unit a couple of years ago. It was useless, we had to empty the water collector every half an hour. We took it back as we thought it was faulty. We have also borrowed one which was no better than a fan so I think ceiling fans will be our next trial. To think 3 weeks ago it was wet and cold 🥶
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Post by houpla on Jul 22, 2021 23:30:16 GMT 1
The house has very thick stone walls, double skin with parpaing, then 30cm insulation, then placo. Multicouche insulation under the roof tiles, tiled floors and shutters. It's never less than 10 degrees cooler than outside. We juggle the shutters, I open up doors and windows from 6am, then shut them before 8am. All jobs are done before 10am or after 9pm. Afternoons spent on a Lilo in the pool or swimming It took me 10 years to stop feeling guilty about dossing about during the day. The UK work ethic, don't you just love it?
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Nifty
Member
Posts: 4,974
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Post by Nifty on Jul 23, 2021 7:49:23 GMT 1
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Aardvark
Non-gamer
Living in soggy 22 and still wondering what's going on.
Posts: 2,172
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Post by Aardvark on Jul 23, 2021 10:15:30 GMT 1
I'm not sure why people say you shouldn't open windows in hot weather - we have a window open now on each side of the house and there is a cooling breeze blowing through; with one of the windows, or both, shut, we start to feel stifled and there is no breeze If the temperature in a room is 25 degrees and the outside is 32 degrees, by opening windows you replace the 25 degree air with 32 degree air. And increase the number of flies exponentially.
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Aardvark
Non-gamer
Living in soggy 22 and still wondering what's going on.
Posts: 2,172
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Post by Aardvark on Jul 23, 2021 10:19:17 GMT 1
For me it was going to work in a t-shirt, expecting to do physical things, then being asked to transfer 8 pallets from a slightly cold tunnel (-9.5°C) to a much, much colder one, at -25.6°C. Couldn't feel my ears afterwards and if I was a woman, others would certainly have noticed it! Which reminds me.............. When I was a teenager on a scorching hot day I used to pop into the off license where my mother used to work. I would volunteer to stock up the beer coolers for her. Carrying the crates of beer bottles into the big chiller room and stocking the shelves was a very effective way of getting cool on a hot day, and scoring points with my mother at the same time. Happy Days.
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Nifty
Member
Posts: 4,974
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Post by Nifty on Jul 23, 2021 10:57:59 GMT 1
The windows open windows closed being most effective is a moot point. I find it hard to go against the laws of physics, but, there so many variables that could make a crucial difference as to what is true. Perhaps the construction and age of the house is relevant. Ie. Mud brick, solid brick, breeze, hollow brick, insulation, orientation of house, trees.
I think that a principle factor is the belief of the actor. MOH, remarkable woman though she is, not least for putting up with me for all these years, has caused me much consternation over the last ten years of so by her insistence on opening windows and doors at inappropriate times. It seems that at last she has seen the light and has come to terms with Reason as opposed to instinct, or, perhaps she is just smiling and nodding in acquiesce.
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Post by Olave H on Jul 23, 2021 11:53:13 GMT 1
The windows open windows closed being most effective is a moot point. I find it hard to go against the laws of physics, but, there so many variables that could make a crucial difference as to what is true. Perhaps the construction and age of the house is relevant. Ie. Mud brick, solid brick, breeze, hollow brick, insulation, orientation of house, trees. I think that a principle factor is the belief of the actor. MOH, remarkable woman though she is, not least for putting up with me for all these years, has caused me much consternation over the last ten years of so by her insistence on opening windows and doors at inappropriate times. It seems that at last she has seen the light and has come to terms with Reason as opposed to instinct, or, perhaps she is just smiling and nodding in acquiesce. Join the club. Perhaps it's a woman thing.
Our dog has not been able to settle at night due to the heat so I suggested leaving the aircon on in the kltchen in the hope the dog would settle there. " Yeah but we should leave the window open as well" said my wife. Experience has told me it's futile to explain so the aircon ran all night trying to cool the garden . Oh yes! and the dog still didn't settle
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Post by annabellespapa on Jul 23, 2021 15:36:17 GMT 1
Really simple product, at Centrakor, we have bought a plastic fan with a water spray, it is battery operated and has a flat base so can sit on any surface, 2 AA batteries and they last for ages, got mine going now whilst on my laptop, if I want I can manually spray myself and if the fan is going it turns to a fine mist, brilliant at €4.50.
Edit- I keep it in the fridge to cool the water.
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dilly
Member
near Limoges, Haute Vienne
Posts: 105
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Post by dilly on Jul 23, 2021 16:58:01 GMT 1
Close shutters and open all the doors and windows over night. This gets downstairs to overnight temps (usually low 20's). Open everything up when you get up and let any breeze come through. The second it is warmer out than in close all windows / doors and also the shutters on the side that has sun hitting (sun on windows = heat). I can keep the house low to mid 20's even when 40c+ outside. It is quite amazing walking in from outside, you would think there was aircon!...
We use the same technique.
During the day, keep all windows and doors shut until outside temperature is lower than inside, then open up wide.
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acr
Member
In Manche(50).
Posts: 152
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Post by acr on Jul 23, 2021 19:07:45 GMT 1
The problem I have found with a variety of the bigger portable air conditioning units on castors is that they work ok - they work well in fact, but they are hellish noisy! Useless if where you want to be cool is e.g. while sleeping!
I find it hard to believe the claims of the mini-ones. Never tried one but if someone has and it worked I would certainly be interested. We are hoping to get some of the reversible air source heat pumps installed eventually but that won't be this year. Meanwhile, we are using @clothmama's methods and it works reasonably well in our ancient house. The main problem is overnight. Given that I have to have some sort of covering in bed in order to ward off mosquitos, to whom I am delicious, I can't use my partner's technique of sleeping completely in the buff and the temperature doesn't really drop to something berable until towards 4am. Tricky.....
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Post by manonthemoon2 on Jul 23, 2021 22:34:22 GMT 1
We've been pointing fans on floor levels for the dogs but I'm not sure if they also create heat. Our lounge area was 30° at 8pm tonight, despite shutters and windows closed all day.
Do fans help to cool dogs?
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Post by Polarengineer on Jul 24, 2021 16:58:46 GMT 1
I guess fans will cool dogs. Dogs regulate their body temperature over their tongue and pant to pass air over it, a fan could assist in this. They also have some temperature control in their paws. I expect they can be helped by adding ice to their water and letting them paddle in a shallow pool. I don't have a dog, so, what do I know?
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Nifty
Member
Posts: 4,974
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Post by Nifty on Jul 24, 2021 17:08:29 GMT 1
Hot dogs go well with chilli sauce.
edit Does anybody know why the tail of the g of my dogs has been docked?
#2 seems to have grown back.
experiment g
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ibis
Banned Member
Posts: 1,376
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Post by ibis on Jul 24, 2021 17:27:26 GMT 1
We've been pointing fans on floor levels for the dogs but I'm not sure if they also create heat. Our lounge area was 30° at 8pm tonight, despite shutters and windows closed all day. Do fans help to cool dogs? I guess they do if the doggies like it. I know from experience they do not like underfloor heating; their bed needs to be raised above it.
The cat will lay right in front of the log burner; I always expect her to burst into flames...
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