It is almost 100F here in Fort Collins. I don’t have an air conditioner, but I am staying very cool. I have a fan set up about 10 feet away, and soak my shirt in water about once every two hours.
At ASU, we used to thoughtfully invite coeds over for wet T-shirt contests, in order to help them stay cool. That would probably be illegal now, because of gender profiling.
Evaporative cooling does not work so well in Florida. Misting fans, for example, just get everything wet.
Isn’t that the whole point of a wet t-shirt contest?
You need to be able to get an attractive model of that. Not a computer one!
“But the National Renewable Energy Laboratory has invented a new air conditioning system that uses 50 to 90 percent less energy than the best available units. The Desiccant-Enhanced eVaporative air conditioner — DEVap — combines membranes, evaporative cooling and liquid desiccants in a way that has never been done before.
NREL mechanical engineer Eric Kozubal, who co-invented the system, says the goal is to revolutionize cooling while removing millions of metric tons of carbon from the air. It cools and dries the air in one step. Evaporative cooling, blowing air across a wet surface to promote evaporation, has long been used in swamp coolers, as Technology Review notes. The DEVap takes it a step further, dividing air into two streams that are separated by a polymer membrane.”
http://www.popsci.com/gadgets/article/2010-06/energy-efficient-air-conditioning-system-improves-swamp-cooler-tech
When I was a kid we called them swamp coolers, and they could be found from Florida to Maine, and Savannah to Portland. I especially remember the Spanish Moss swamp coolers in bait shops on the gulf coast, with a flashing Miller High Life neon sign buzzing in the background, and the din of the crickets.
What’s old is new again.
sorry. didn’t see your swamp cooler reference before posting.
Our biz in Colorado had a big swamp cooler – basically a big fan blowing past running or misted water. That thing worked great. Like the other commenter said – that ain’t happening here in FLA. You’d have a big hot humid moldy mess on your hands in a couple days.
I did not have refrigeration in my home until 1984 and I lived in the desert. we did not even have air conditioning in our work trucks until the late 80s.
Here’s the secret recipe to survive in hot climates (currently reside in AZ; spent plenty of time in FL and some time in DR in military); was raised in damp moderate climates and spent time in cold climates so I have found that one must “condition the body” to adjust to various extreme climates; but for heat:
1. Upon rising in the morning, drink a couple of big glasses of water. Drink water throughout the day. This is the most important and most overlooked key to hot-weather living. Not air conditioning – water.
2. Wear a hat outdoors until you are really used to the sun.
3. If in a dry climate, wear an undershirt – it will act as a kind of air-conditioner.
4. If in a humid climate, wear loose clothes.
5. When outdoors, seek shade.
6. Spend as much time as you practically can out doors and start early in the season – but don’t overdo it – heat can kill you.
7. Hot climates are some of the most beautiful places on the planet so pay attention to the plants, the land, the dirt, the critters because they are probably having a great time; meld with them and blend with the land; the desert is the earth and the earth is our mother.
8. Pay special attention to the time of day. In the tropics there are daily violent rain storms. Morning, early morning before the sun is up, is… magic, special, dare I say, spiritual.
9. Dusk – breathtaking; there is nothing like a desert sunset. Evening it stays hot. It is so unique. I just love it. Have a couple of beers. Freaking paradise.
PS Man-Made Global Warming is a crock of sh#t.