I Hate Summer

[dj_ultima_the_great]

So, I'm posting this here, because I know all of my fellow geeks here have to deal (or have had to deal at some point) with the same problem, and I was curious what the solutions were.

Hot weather, hot computer, hot television, hot gaming console... how do you keep cool? We have a small apartment, and there is a wall unit air conditioner out in the living room. Of course, both bedrooms are a sharp angle around the corner, and it just doesn't reach them at all, meaning we have a fantastically cool living room and blazing bedrooms. Fans and open doors help to "share the wealth," but it's just not good enough, not to mention it makes privacy impossible. With a particularly nosy roommate like mine, I want options. (God, I miss the central air in the house.)

I have one window, vertical sliding, and removing the screen isn't allowed, so another wall unit is out of the question. I was thinking of a portable air conditioner (not an air cooler, as I understand that they don't work so well in more humid areas like here in Wisconsin), but I haven't the foggiest idea where to start. Customer reviews don't really have a majority landslide on any one product, so I'm gonna throw it out to my peers.

Do any of you have experience with portable units? Are there other methods that I'm not considering?

[Dr. Derpface, J.D.]

If you can, mount a fan in the window blowing air outside and crank it as high as it will go. That should help pull the cool air from the rest of the place through the room, where it will warm up and be expelled by the fan. Have another fan in the living room pointed around the corner to push the air down the hallway. The setup won't make it an icebox in those rooms, but it should at least help.

The only other option I can think of is sitting directly in front of a fan in as little as possible/comfortable if you have the privacy.

Source: A/C went out here last summer and it was like a damned oven in most of the house.

[BasharOfTheAges]

Vornado fans - they show up on Woot a lot, but regular retail outlets sell them too. It's a cyclone fan that pushes a tremendous amount of air without being terribly noisy.

I have a 3 story condo with only 1 heating/cooling zone, 1 thermostat, and 1 air intake (on the middle level) and pretty shitty windows on the top floor, so summer is hell after 8AM in my bedroom, and my basement office feels like an icebox in the winter. These fans pointed up the stairs actually move the air entire floors without a problem.

[Dr. Derpface, J.D.]

Wat....

[GuntherAMVs]

There's a whole thread dedicated to hating me Q______Q
T^T...
My feelings, ne-...
..crushed under the weight of Summer hatred-..
*flail*

xPP

(but yeah, in all seriousness, it's a scorcher this year LOL)

[catgod]

I heard laying around in kinda sheer maxi dresses you got from hawaii 6 years ago that didn't fit you till now, really works well

[Kitsuner]

I heard laying around in kinda sheer maxi dresses you got from hawaii 6 years ago that didn't fit you till now, really works well

I can vouch for this.

[ngsilver]

Those vornado fans are really nice. I've used them in the past to help keep cool. The other fan ideas are also really good, it's how we keep our trailer cool when we're there for camping as we don't have AC in it (and it's frowned upon by the campgrounds.)

I myself haven't really had any experience with the portable units, but they sound like the best option really for you. One of those tower AC units that have an exhaust tube. If you can't remove the screen you can still attach the end of the tube to the screen to exhaust, then just get a fan to put in the rest of the open area to help circulate air out of the room.

Beyond that, you can try fans pointed over your electronics (I've had to do this at work before to help circulate the hot air in the summer that would accumulate around our servers at one site) and then I'd suggest to wear as little as possible, especially no socks, and have a fan pointed toward your head/torso and another at your feet. It's amazing how cool you can get if you can cool off your feet. I do this at work and it works wonders keeping me comfortable in my cube.

[HalOfBorg]

Water cooling for the computer? Long enough hoses to vent CPU /Video card heat outside/into cool room.

(I assume long hoses are OK.)

[Castor Troy]

I woke up drenched in sweat this morning.