Good advice all round. We live on Vancouver island, Canada the only time we really need to be concerned is from Late June throughJuly & August. We don't have AC so we have adopted a strategy that works: We leave all windows open all night to cool the house down, sometimes we run fans to push the cold air into the house or bring it up from the basement. We are up early and draw all the curtains and blinds and close all the windows until sunset. It keeps the house quite cool. I also make a point of walking the dog as soon as I get up. Dogs can get heat exhaustion quite quickly, remember if you can't touch a paved or concrete surface with the back of your hand for 30 seconds then it is too hot for a dog. Cold towels, a kids wading pool and cool treats ( frozen banana pieces) are another way to cool down a pet. My dog often spends the summer crashed out in the basement. Sunset walks or early evening walks are the way to finish the day. Keeping everyone hydrated is also important. We also spend the early and late hours watering the garden. Hope this helps!
I don't have any options for a basement where I live but I do have solar panels on the roof. It's good to know about the capacity of the panels though. I had my system configured to provide my house with 100% power at its peak, which is typically the summer months here in central Virginia.
We just returned home from out west, to massive humidity and temps in the low 90's. Working outside is like being in the jungles of southeast Asia or the Philippines.
I'm still working out storage battery options as the current batteries being offered by the solar companies only last 10-15 years tops at the cost of $10,000 or more per set as told to me last year. With the tariffs now, that price is likely a lot more or the batteries are no longer available from China anymore.
As for your cooling solutions, some sound pretty interesting. I am familiar with swamp coolers from the old days of cheap HVAC and that principle has been around for decades. If I lose the grid here, I will keep those ideas in mind.
Who knows where the U.S. is heading right now but things are starting to look real bad right now. With the jungle humidity and evening thunder showers nearly every night, I am reminded of a Pacific Island monsoon season right now here in the eastern U.S. seaboard. I just left northern Arizona a couple weeks ago and it was nice and cool up in the mountains there at the Grand Canyon. I imagine it won't be too much longer before Phoenix will become uninhabitable due to the extreme heat and water shortages. That's a lot of climate migrants who will be looking for a place to live.
Parts of southern and central California will be right there with them. Especially out in the Mojave Desert. We baked in Bakersfield, CA and during our drive east to Arizona through the desert. Things are looking pretty dire out there now.
I think you may be right. It's looking like this summer may set some new records and that's a bad thing. I guess we need to start preparing for another type of climate disaster. I feel bad for those people living in these, soon to be, uninhabitable places as Trump and company is not going to lift a finger to help them.
As we've been saying over and over again, take care of yourselves as there is no longer any government that will help you anymore. They have bigger priorities, such as chasing down immigrants, jailing dissidents and a war brewing in the middle east that may cost more American lives very soon. Save these articles as the advice in them may save someone's life in the near future.
Prices for the portable solar setups seem to be holding steady, but yep 10-15 years looks like the max lifespan for any kind of battery system, even the LiFePO4 batteries. At least with individual batteries, you have more flexibility and can replace them one at a time instead of a whole $10K system.
My original thought was to install an integrated storage system that would sustain us during a blackout but that isn't looking like a viable option anymore, unless they come up with better battery technology someday soon. Maybe you're right about the portable systems. If I scale myself down to just maintaining the food storage, We could survive without the rest, other than maintaining health systems. I have a gas fireplace that I could use for some warmth in the winter months, and we could work out some options if the grid goes down in the summer heat. Scary times ahead for a lot of people.
‘two-thirds of North America already face “shortfalls in the electrical grid, particularly during periods of extreme heat when demand for air conditioning spikes, straining resources.”’
<<Well shucks, guess we should fire back up the coal-fuelled generation plants.>>
- people who hate their kids & grandkids
As far as a strategy, it’s tough to retrofit cheaply, but basements are great. As a 🇨🇦 I’ve never really understood why so much of 🇺🇸 eschews them …
I learned the hard way about deep summer and power outages. When we lived in eastern WV, a powerful derecho blew through. It looked like a hurricane through our living room window. IT did significant damage in Baltimore and DC. Our power was out for four days, and we lived in the county seat. Trees were down all over and some people's streets were blocked. I was miserable upstairs, but we had a finished basement. I spent a lot of time down there with our dogs.
We now live in SW MO, which is almost the same latitude as where we were in WV. The climate is almost identical, too. One of the first purchases I made when we bought this house was to install a whole house generator which is powered by city gas. They solved the cooling problem unless the gas goes out. We only have a crawlspace now, which might be a place to go if all else fails.
I "grew up" in the dry Southwestern US, so there are a few tried-and-tested ideas for staying cool. #1- do not use anti-perspirants of any type, and forget the "sun screen" which blocks the pores of the skin. Wear a loose fitting hat. Carry a spray bottle filled with water, and direct a fine mist on your skin often. Drink water often. We acclimate to hotter temperature without A/C, but there is a delay in the physiological response. Your body will learn to cope. Look to people's activities in hotter climates, and try to emulate. You see the Arabians wearing light blankets in the hot sun? Try to understand, and apply. This info has all been about being in the outdoors, and our bodies cope with heat better when we are active, but rest often for short periods.
Most of the world doesn’t have a/c. And growing up and living in the coastal areas of California, we didn’t have air conditioning in our residences or cars. When I lived in Germany, for 3 yrs, we didn’t have a/c. The people who live in the hottest areas of the world in se
Asia, do not have a/c.
We used to survive on cool baths and showers in east LA.
Since much of the world doesn’t have a/c, we have to assume that there will be more heat related deaths. Ers around the world cannot handle the demand. Cities will need to create cooling centers. And even still, it won’t be enough. Babies and the elderly are hit the hardest from heat.
In the USA, people are dying every summer from hyperthermia. Last year, an elderly couple and their dog died in their mobile home in Texas, they didn’t have a/c.Every year multiple Babies and children are forgotten in cars, and die.
E/rs couldn’t handle a virus, it will be impossible to handle the demand from heat. And how long do hospitals have back up power? What happens when hospitals don’t have electricity?
Personally, We have central a/c. We also have a generator that can run our a/c. And we have a very cool basement. We live in the coolest place in the country, but we still see days over 100 f. Unsheltered people have died from the heat, and of course babies have too.
The book, the ministry of the future., begins
With a heatwave in India. Millions die. Whole cities. What will we do when whole cities die? Probably nothing.
Survival of the richest- it’s the way of the world.
Those cooling mats you can get for pets! In classic cat form, my cat doesn’t like hers but on really hot days/nights I’ve put it on my own bed/couch/desk chair and it really helps. I need to order a larger one for my bed.
I also got peppermint lotion which helps after a cool shower or bath. Helps the cool feeling last a little longer.
Good advice all round. We live on Vancouver island, Canada the only time we really need to be concerned is from Late June throughJuly & August. We don't have AC so we have adopted a strategy that works: We leave all windows open all night to cool the house down, sometimes we run fans to push the cold air into the house or bring it up from the basement. We are up early and draw all the curtains and blinds and close all the windows until sunset. It keeps the house quite cool. I also make a point of walking the dog as soon as I get up. Dogs can get heat exhaustion quite quickly, remember if you can't touch a paved or concrete surface with the back of your hand for 30 seconds then it is too hot for a dog. Cold towels, a kids wading pool and cool treats ( frozen banana pieces) are another way to cool down a pet. My dog often spends the summer crashed out in the basement. Sunset walks or early evening walks are the way to finish the day. Keeping everyone hydrated is also important. We also spend the early and late hours watering the garden. Hope this helps!
Good ideas!
I don't have any options for a basement where I live but I do have solar panels on the roof. It's good to know about the capacity of the panels though. I had my system configured to provide my house with 100% power at its peak, which is typically the summer months here in central Virginia.
We just returned home from out west, to massive humidity and temps in the low 90's. Working outside is like being in the jungles of southeast Asia or the Philippines.
I'm still working out storage battery options as the current batteries being offered by the solar companies only last 10-15 years tops at the cost of $10,000 or more per set as told to me last year. With the tariffs now, that price is likely a lot more or the batteries are no longer available from China anymore.
As for your cooling solutions, some sound pretty interesting. I am familiar with swamp coolers from the old days of cheap HVAC and that principle has been around for decades. If I lose the grid here, I will keep those ideas in mind.
Who knows where the U.S. is heading right now but things are starting to look real bad right now. With the jungle humidity and evening thunder showers nearly every night, I am reminded of a Pacific Island monsoon season right now here in the eastern U.S. seaboard. I just left northern Arizona a couple weeks ago and it was nice and cool up in the mountains there at the Grand Canyon. I imagine it won't be too much longer before Phoenix will become uninhabitable due to the extreme heat and water shortages. That's a lot of climate migrants who will be looking for a place to live.
Parts of southern and central California will be right there with them. Especially out in the Mojave Desert. We baked in Bakersfield, CA and during our drive east to Arizona through the desert. Things are looking pretty dire out there now.
I think you may be right. It's looking like this summer may set some new records and that's a bad thing. I guess we need to start preparing for another type of climate disaster. I feel bad for those people living in these, soon to be, uninhabitable places as Trump and company is not going to lift a finger to help them.
As we've been saying over and over again, take care of yourselves as there is no longer any government that will help you anymore. They have bigger priorities, such as chasing down immigrants, jailing dissidents and a war brewing in the middle east that may cost more American lives very soon. Save these articles as the advice in them may save someone's life in the near future.
Prices for the portable solar setups seem to be holding steady, but yep 10-15 years looks like the max lifespan for any kind of battery system, even the LiFePO4 batteries. At least with individual batteries, you have more flexibility and can replace them one at a time instead of a whole $10K system.
My original thought was to install an integrated storage system that would sustain us during a blackout but that isn't looking like a viable option anymore, unless they come up with better battery technology someday soon. Maybe you're right about the portable systems. If I scale myself down to just maintaining the food storage, We could survive without the rest, other than maintaining health systems. I have a gas fireplace that I could use for some warmth in the winter months, and we could work out some options if the grid goes down in the summer heat. Scary times ahead for a lot of people.
Don’t drink alcohol.
Have pedialight on hand.
Always have a jug of water in the car.
Gatorade frozen make slushy
Freeze extra bottles of water, it keeps other items frozen, or throw them in an ice chest for coldness
Don’t forget your pets
Sparkling water is nice.
Watch fried foods intake
‘two-thirds of North America already face “shortfalls in the electrical grid, particularly during periods of extreme heat when demand for air conditioning spikes, straining resources.”’
<<Well shucks, guess we should fire back up the coal-fuelled generation plants.>>
- people who hate their kids & grandkids
As far as a strategy, it’s tough to retrofit cheaply, but basements are great. As a 🇨🇦 I’ve never really understood why so much of 🇺🇸 eschews them …
https://www.regionalfoundationrepair.com/why-are-there-no-basements-in-some-states/
All good ideas, Jessica.
I learned the hard way about deep summer and power outages. When we lived in eastern WV, a powerful derecho blew through. It looked like a hurricane through our living room window. IT did significant damage in Baltimore and DC. Our power was out for four days, and we lived in the county seat. Trees were down all over and some people's streets were blocked. I was miserable upstairs, but we had a finished basement. I spent a lot of time down there with our dogs.
We now live in SW MO, which is almost the same latitude as where we were in WV. The climate is almost identical, too. One of the first purchases I made when we bought this house was to install a whole house generator which is powered by city gas. They solved the cooling problem unless the gas goes out. We only have a crawlspace now, which might be a place to go if all else fails.
Generator sounds like a smart move. Gas lines seem less vulnerable to the elements.
I "grew up" in the dry Southwestern US, so there are a few tried-and-tested ideas for staying cool. #1- do not use anti-perspirants of any type, and forget the "sun screen" which blocks the pores of the skin. Wear a loose fitting hat. Carry a spray bottle filled with water, and direct a fine mist on your skin often. Drink water often. We acclimate to hotter temperature without A/C, but there is a delay in the physiological response. Your body will learn to cope. Look to people's activities in hotter climates, and try to emulate. You see the Arabians wearing light blankets in the hot sun? Try to understand, and apply. This info has all been about being in the outdoors, and our bodies cope with heat better when we are active, but rest often for short periods.
Most of the world doesn’t have a/c. And growing up and living in the coastal areas of California, we didn’t have air conditioning in our residences or cars. When I lived in Germany, for 3 yrs, we didn’t have a/c. The people who live in the hottest areas of the world in se
Asia, do not have a/c.
We used to survive on cool baths and showers in east LA.
Since much of the world doesn’t have a/c, we have to assume that there will be more heat related deaths. Ers around the world cannot handle the demand. Cities will need to create cooling centers. And even still, it won’t be enough. Babies and the elderly are hit the hardest from heat.
In the USA, people are dying every summer from hyperthermia. Last year, an elderly couple and their dog died in their mobile home in Texas, they didn’t have a/c.Every year multiple Babies and children are forgotten in cars, and die.
E/rs couldn’t handle a virus, it will be impossible to handle the demand from heat. And how long do hospitals have back up power? What happens when hospitals don’t have electricity?
Personally, We have central a/c. We also have a generator that can run our a/c. And we have a very cool basement. We live in the coolest place in the country, but we still see days over 100 f. Unsheltered people have died from the heat, and of course babies have too.
The book, the ministry of the future., begins
With a heatwave in India. Millions die. Whole cities. What will we do when whole cities die? Probably nothing.
Survival of the richest- it’s the way of the world.
Those cooling mats you can get for pets! In classic cat form, my cat doesn’t like hers but on really hot days/nights I’ve put it on my own bed/couch/desk chair and it really helps. I need to order a larger one for my bed.
I also got peppermint lotion which helps after a cool shower or bath. Helps the cool feeling last a little longer.