All Ways to Cool Your Home That Are Cheaper Than an Air Conditioning System
When the summer heat and humidity are at their true levels, cold showers and box fans can do much more. You will need to cool the air in your home at some point if you want to feel comfortable. Without central air conditioning, this can be a real problem.
Centralized air is an incredible luxury with one huge, potentially decisive drawback: it uses an incredible amount of electricity, and the hotter it is outside, the more it needs. Almost any alternative to the air conditioning system is cheaper and more environmentally friendly than the real one. With the exception of whole house fans, which sound like this, all of these solutions are designed to cool individual rooms as needed. This minimizes energy costs and offers a ton of flexibility, so even renters have multiple options to survive this summer.
Ceiling fans
A good ceiling fan can make a huge difference in hot and sticky weather. They do not require high energy costs and are affordable enough for you to convince the landlord to shell out that amount. Just make sure yours is pointing correctly: counterclockwise is best for cooling .
Fans
There is a fan one notch above the ceiling fan. You will usually find them used in bathrooms to control humidity, but they can also be used to move air from a cooler part of your home to a hotter one . Fans for blowers range anywhere from $ 100 to $ 200 (excluding installation), which is less expensive than many other options. However, as FamilyHandyman.com points out , the fan only works if you have “plenty of cold air readily available for your hot room.”
One room air conditioners
We all know and love (or at least tolerate) the classic “window sieve” AC unit, but you need the right type of windows to use it. These two other options work where there are no window boxes.
Portable AC Units
These air conditioners release air through a window and are usually installed on casters so they can be moved from room to room. They are easy to install (and remove), but are quite expensive up front and tend to use more power than other devices with similar cooling capacity. If you are refrigerating a studio apartment and your rental prohibits even semi-permanent AC installation, a portable unit is a good choice.
Built-in AC units
If you have the ability to cut holes in walls, AC recessed units offer at least two huge advantages over their windowed and portable counterparts: They are more energy efficient and do not take up precious window space. However, the installation process is not entirely convenient for independent work – you need to hire a professional, which increases the cost.
Non-contact mini-split air conditioning systems (“mini-split”)
A mini split is essentially an air conditioning system for people who don’t have an air conditioning system. Here’s how they work, according to BobVila.com :
Mini-split systems usually consist of two separate units: an internal evaporator (with fan and cooling coil) and an external condenser. The two parts are connected by a flexible pipe that carries the refrigerated refrigerant from the outdoor compressor to the indoor unit for distribution. Since no air ducts are required, the mini-partition is especially suitable for both old houses and new extensions.
Like other one-room air conditioners, mini-units allow you to cool individual rooms. The main difference is that they allow you to run several units on one compressor, which consumes less electricity than when the same number of separate units are running. A good mini-split system isn’t cheap, but it’s a great (and surprisingly energy efficient) way to keep the hottest rooms in your home cool for years to come.
Whole House Fans
If you have a home with an attic, you can cool it with a fan for the whole house, or in an attic with a strong may emphasis. BobVila.com ‘s In-depth Guide to Whole House Fans, explains that this old cooling method can cool large homes for a fraction of the cost of an air conditioning system, but only in very specific circumstances.
Whole house fans work by pushing hot air up and out (usually through the attic), while drawing in cool air through the open windows below. At night you open the windows and turn on the fan; in the morning you close everything. Unfortunately, this simple and efficient system has a fatal flaw, which is clearly stated in the BobVila.com manual :
Because room fans draw fresh outside air into the home without dehumidifying it, they work best in climates where outside humidity is already relatively low. … The fan entirely is not recommended in Pensacola, Florida, where the average humidity is 72.5 percent, but it can be beneficial in places like Phoenix (with an average humidity of 36.6 percent) or Las Vegas. (30.3 percent).
In other words, if you live in a loft house in a dry climate with low nighttime temperatures in summer and mild winters because leaking fans can cause heat loss, then a whole house fan might be for you. But if humidity is a concern, don’t waste time on fans.
This is a good reminder to consider your specific needs. Depending on your climate, cabinet materials, and ability to make changes, some of these solutions will make more sense than others. Think about what you want, what you need, and what you can actually do, and then start there.
This article was originally published on July 10, 2013. It was updated on May 24, 2021 with new links, a new photo, a new section on ceiling fans, and updated information. It has also been edited to reflect the current Lifehacker style rules.