A house-cooling strategy
July 15th, 2008Though the day is beautiful, the news is not: a poor economy, a deflating housing market, and wrenching changes forced by high fuel prices. Add to that this background noise: a lack of action by our leaders on the most important issues (federal debt, health care, climate change, etc.) and a feeling that the United States has passed the peak of its power and is in decline.
However, I’m taking some small actions today that buoy my spirits. They involve my energy-efficient strategy to keep the house cool in hot weather. They aren’t perfect and they won’t work for everyone or every situation, but they generally work for us. Here are the steps I take:
- Open the windows at night to let cool air in
- Close the windows during the day when the outside temperature is higher than the indoor temperature
- Close basement air vents, open air vents elsewhere in house
- Keep the dehumidifier in the basement running
- Turn on the furnace fan to circulate air through the house
- Use other fans as necessary
This strategy moves cooler air in the basement and ground level up to the top floor. The other day it kept our house at 80 degrees or cooler on a 95-degree day.
It’s a bit like a thrifty groundsource cooling solution: naturally cool air in the basement helps to cool the rest of the house. It may also work to some extent in houses without basements.
It may work better in our house than in others, because we share walls with neighboring townhouses. But still, I think it can help many people to minimize their air conditioner use.

