(ABC4) – When it’s this hot, air conditioning seems more like a necessity than it does a luxury. But what do you do if you’re without?
“With no AC, it can definitely get at least the temperature of the outside,” Drew Tubbs tells ABC4. Tubbs is a comfort advisor for Mountain Air Conditioning and Heating. As temperatures hit triple digits, even in Northern Utah, he’s offering some tips for those who don’t have AC in their home, whether it be temporarily or on a more permanent basis.
Tubbs says in Northern Utah, encountering a home without AC is more common than one may think. “There are a lot of homes that were not designed for air conditioning up until about the 1980s, 1990,” he adds.
Tubbs explains there are simple ways to help keep one’s home from reaching outside temperatures.
“You can put fans in the upper floor and as you push the air out of the home, opening the windows,” he says. “That will help draw the air out of the basement, or the lower areas of the home, up into the higher areas to exhaust that hot air and draw the cool air into the home.” This works similarly to a forced air cooling system.
Tubbs tells ABC4 other tips keeping a home cool are as simple as keeping the blinds closed during the day. During summer months, it’s not uncommon to see older homes with tin foil in the windows. Tubbs says this is the same concept. Using what you can to keep direct sunlight out of the home during the day will help reduce some heat.
For immediate relief, he says a person can “go old school and put ice in a bucket and blow a fan across it.”
If a home has ceiling fans, Tubbs suggests making sure when they are turned on that they are spinning counterclockwise. He says this creates the most circulation.
Along with doing things to bring the temperature down, Tubbs points out there are a few simple things people can do to prevent the temperature from going up as well. Today, most homes are full of electronic devices. From TVs to gaming systems to computers, most electronics push out heat while turned on. If it’s not being used, he says make sure it’s turned off.
Cooking also increases the temperature inside a home. Tubbs suggests creating a meal plan that doesn’t call for a lot of intense cooking.
The American Red Cross also wants people to be comfortable and safe during the heat. For those without AC in their homes, they recommend getting out of the house for part of the day.
“You can go to places like a public library, or the mall, or any type of places like that,” says Executive Director Michael Smauldon. “That’s going to help you get some air conditioning and cool off.”
Running errands during the afternoon is a great way to take advantage of the air conditioning provided in public spaces.
