It's HOT in here. How do you keep the house cool? We have a 1wk old baby. (apartment, buy)

[tanglenet]

Get insulated shades / blinds; keep the windows open during the day to let out heat; buy window fans ($35 at Home Depot) to help expel the heat. Try to create a cross breeze where the bedrooms are. Turn on the kitchen fan and bathroom fan too.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Starting at dawn:
1) Close all windows and window treatments.
2) Turn off / keep off all unnecessary lighting and other electronics.
3) Monitor throughout the day for the start of the afternoon breeze.
4) As soon as the afternoon breeze kicks in, open the windows but leave the window treatments closed.
5) At sundown open the window treatments.
6) Keep windows open until dawn.
7) Repeat as needed.

Obviously, if on the ground floor in a bad hood, this may not be feasible.

[humboldtrat]

Originally Posted by andyadhi01

Take the baby to Ocean beach

The OP lives in "Daily" City!

[DMenscha]

Originally Posted by BayAreaHillbilly

Starting at dawn:
1) Close all windows and window treatments.
2) Turn off / keep off all unnecessary lighting and other electronics.
3) Monitor throughout the day for the start of the afternoon breeze.
4) As soon as the afternoon breeze kicks in, open the windows but leave the window treatments closed.
5) At sundown open the window treatments.
6) Keep windows open until dawn.
7) Repeat as needed.

Obviously, if on the ground floor in a bad hood, this may not be feasible.

Yep, that's what we do. We have AC, but we don't turn it on until the inside temp gets to be 83 or so (doesn't happen very often) and even then we just try to reverse the heating up trend.

Assuming the OP's baby sleeps in a semi confined space, wet some towels and cover a percentage of the area where the kid sleeps.

[SLA74]

I heartily second the suggestion of a portable AC unit! We also live in an area where not many have AC, but we decided we wanted them for just these occasions and they have been real lifesavers, especially during these recent heat waves. In addition to the Home Depot recommendation, I would check these guys out as well: Portable Air Conditioner Store - Portable Air Conditioners & AC Units.
We got all 3 of our units from them and they have been really great (we keep 2 in bedrooms and 1 in the living room). Good luck!

[ambient]

Originally Posted by BayAreaHillbilly

Starting at dawn:
1) Close all windows and window treatments.
2) Turn off / keep off all unnecessary lighting and other electronics.
3) Monitor throughout the day for the start of the afternoon breeze.
4) As soon as the afternoon breeze kicks in, open the windows but leave the window treatments closed.
5) At sundown open the window treatments.
6) Keep windows open until dawn.
7) Repeat as needed.

Obviously, if on the ground floor in a bad hood, this may not be feasible.

This is the correct approach for most of the peninsula, at least. Even during brutal heat waves, it tends to cool off overnight. Window fans really help at that point. During the day, opening the windows just helps the cool air from overnight disappear faster and be replaced with the hot outdoor air. During the last heatwave, we also broke down and spent about $400 on a portable 12K BTU AC unit. It helps a lot during such times.

[skubaman]

Hi Guys, thanks for tips. Yes I know it's hotter in other places, I am not comparing. I am not in Daily City as someone mentioned here. I am in Noe Valley.

Anyway, another heat wave came by on the weekend and it was brutal again.
I have tried many methods: windows open at night closed during the day, or windows opened day and night. I have closed the (almost) black out curtain on all major window, and didn't help much.

Some people suggested portable A/C, but wouldn't buying 2 or 3 units cost more than a central A/C?

I have been doing some research about attic venting, attic insulation, whole house fans, etc... I am trying to figure out what would be a cost effective solution to reduce the temp inside the house on those 80+ degree days.

I am also thinking of adding e-film to one original window and one original skylight, but not sure if these 2 things alone will make any noticeable difference.

Do you have any tips? Should I talk to a roofing contractor about venting or you think it wouldn't help that much?

Thanks much,

[CSD610]

Originally Posted by skubaman

Hey Guys,
We just had a baby 1 week ago. Besides already dealing with sewer/water work outside our house (in Noe Valley) with tractors all week, now it's the weather. We don't have A/C and it's been really hot. Last night at 9pm it was 81° in the bedroom. We had a fan and an air purifier acting as fan on. Baby ended up sleeping ok after temp dropped to around 77° around 11:30pm.

We recently moved so we don't have shades in the room yet, just hanging a sheet on the window. But all my windows are high efficiency. Do I keep them closed all day or open them? I don't know what's worse.

In the kitchen is where we can get the most air flow because there is a deck and skylight, but it's also south facing so it gets the most sun during the day. What to do about that? Keep deck window and skylight closed or open?

Today I am trying a new thing. I open the door from our floor to the garage and open the garage door to backyard. Trying to create an up draft. Not sure it will help if air outside is also hot.

Any advice is very appreciated.

Thanks so much

Window Air Conditioner for the room you sleep in.

[wooliemonster]

I grew up in a 100+ year old Victorian house in rural Texas. Window A/C units in the bedroom.

[skubaman]

Window Air Conditioner for the room you sleep in.

By the time we go to bed it's not so hot anymore. The challenge is really right in the middle of the day and afternoon. We spend most of the time in the living room and ideally it would be the area we wanted cooled off. But it's a big area because it opens up to dining room which opens up to kitchen.

Is your suggestions that on those hot days we just spend it all in the airconditioned bedroom?