[USER]

We live at 3,500 for elevation, however, in the day it gets up to 96° in the house, although outside is 77°. I do not have AC, and we have vaulted ceilings. Any recommendations appreciated.

[Bonnie]

Set up box fans in the windows to blow cool in..

[Tommye]

If it was that cool here, I’d be staying outside!

[Terry]

That doesnt seem like a hot indoor temp to me. I live in AZ. We keep our AC set at 76 when it’s 112 outside.

[Loretta]

We use 20″ box fans in front of all our big windows in the evening when to draw in cool air.

I’m able to cool our house down to 65 so the daytime I don’t need to use A/C.

[Angie]

I’m in the denver area where it was in the upper 90s in the afternoons for a few weeks. I have window fans to pull cool air in at night.

I then close my windows and drapes in the morning. It does a pretty good job keeping it cool throughout the day.

It gets a bit uncomfortable between 5-630, but then around 7 it cools off enough I turn the fans on again.

Don’t miss: Looking for advice on more cost efficient home heating and cooling

[Liz]

I don’t run ac upstairs during the day and it’s been 100 outside here and it stays around 80 inside. I have heavy curtains I keep closed. My husband complains the house super dark but it’s also much cooler then outside.

With it being that cool outside I would open my windows at night after the sun goes down and cool off the house.

My house was built in 1899 and I’ve been slowly adding insulation for the last 10 years. When we first bought the house we had no insulation at all so I would just hang out in the basement.

[Tina]

Lowe’s reflectix cut to windows. Put in during hot days. Reflects heat of sun even with windows open. and take out at night and use fan to draw in outside to cool down.

[Kristine]

I don’t have AC either. Open your windows at night and the cool air will come in. Shut them in the morning. Keep curtains drawn.

It seems if you open your windows while it is 77 degrees out your home should cool down.

[Lisa]

Open as many windows as you can at night, close them in the am and use black-out curtains or blinds. You can always hang a dark sheet or foil the windows temporarily too.

[Katy]

I think this can really depends on your climate and the specifics of your house but…here’s what we do to keep the house cool.

1. Windows open in the evening when the air is cool. Windows closed during the day when it’s hot out.

2. Windows covered with curtains during the day.

3. We use the fan on our furnace to push air up from the basement which is much cooler.

4. We also have vaulted ceilings and keep one window that is way up at the top open to help vent hot air.

5. Good insulation and windows in the house.

6. No long cooking in the oven on hot days. Anything that can be put on the porch to cook (instant pot, rice cooker, etc) goes outside to prevent heat and steam in our house.

I hope that helps some. Good luck.

Also, check out: Any remedy for getting a bat out of your house?

[Jean]

I would invest in a whole house fan, especially since you have vaulted ceilings.

I haven’t looked into those for about 5 years but the cost was in the $1,000 range (in CA) but in a different area would probably cost less.

[Bonnie]

Could you also try wearing one of those neck “fans” that you can buy on Amazon?

I bought one for my hubby a few years ago since he’s always hot and I’m cold. Just a thought.

Good luck.

[Stephenie]

I was reading an article weeks back about all the things old houses used to have before A/C. I don’t know why they stopped doing it. One thing I DO remember from the article is that rooms had high ceilings so that they could install a window or a vent above the door for hot air to escape.

Seems like that should be an old trick incorporated somehow into new construction.

Might be worth investigating if a modification would help you in the rooms with vaulted ceilings.

Don’t forget to take a look at: How do I get rid of cat & dog smell in my house?

[Anita]

Get window ac unit.

[Martha]

If the windows are double hung, open the top half of the upstairs windows, and lower half of downstairs windows, or put box fans blowing out upstairs and blowing in downstairs.

Keep curtains closed on the sunny side of the house.

[Author]

Posts