Air Conditioners and Keeping Cool

It was so gawd awful hot yesterday I decided to go over to Canadian Tire and buy a new air conditioner.


For $135 (tax included) I think I got a bargain. A Garrison air conditioner with 5,250 BTU. Admittedly 5,250 BTU doesn't seem like a lot when there are other air conditioners on the market that go up to 12,000 BTU, but those are frankly outrageous and overkill.

5,250 BTU doesn't just keep my apartment cool, I don't even have to run it all the time to keep the place cool. It works so efficiently I frequently find myself saying "Its too cold in here!" and I turn it off.

The point I want to make is that you don't need a big expensive air conditioner to get the job done efficiently. Modern ACs are already very energy efficient and assuming you keep it clean and in good working order it will provide years of coolness even in the height of summer.

The beauty of the air conditioner I bought is that it comes with a remote so I can adjust the digital temperature, fan speed, timer, etc from a distance. Sweet!

Now some people out there might be cheapskates and decide they don't want to buy an air conditioner.

In which case you will be looking for a nice fan and other tricks to keep cool.

#1. Buy a fan that is BIG and LOOKS NICE. Speaking for myself I got a stainless steel fan years ago and have loved it ever since. Its fast, does the job and doubles as an object d'art.

#2.Freeze Pops... This is more of a nostalgia thing for me. I remember growing up and eating ice cream, Freeze Pops, sundaes, etc a lot during the summer. Last summer I got the small ones and they made for a nice cool snack, but I found I kept eating more than 1 at a time. This summer I opted for the extra big ones. Each 150 mL Freeze Pop has 100 calories so I don't recommend overconsuming them since they're essentially just flavoured water with sugar.

#3. Run cold water in your bathtub, sinks, etc. This is for the ultra cheapskate who doesn't pay the water/electricity bill.

#4. Add wooden shutters to the outsides of your windows and curtains on the inside. Close them when its super hot out. Some super cheapskates might also block the sunlight out using tin foil on the window.