Posted by Kromey at 6:36pm Oct 3 '11I realize it's probably too late to benefit much from it this year, but maybe it'll help you further improve next year.
Anyway, set up your box fans in some upstairs windows, blowing out. Then open up some downstairs windows; these then become your cool air intake, with your fans providing your warm air exhaust.
This is what [private] and I do in our apartment. It gets a nice gentle breeze throughout almost the entire apartment (the kitchen is its own little nook, and the air's pretty stationary over there), and it works insanely better than trying to directly pull cool air into the apartment with the fans -- that just results in buffeting and uncomfortable zones right in front of the fans, and still air everywhere else!
Two little box fans in two little windows (one in the bedroom, one in the office), and opening the patio door for the intake, is all it takes for our apartment to stay cool(ish) during 80F and hotter outside!
The friend I got this idea from using the set up I described initially (fans upstairs blowing out, windows open downstairs for intake) in his two-story house, and even though it's only a very narrow/tight stairway (which is not conducive to air flow at all) he says it works great to keep his place cool in the summer; now he's just trying to work out how to get the heat from the wood stove on the first floor up that damnable staircase to the second floor as winter starts to settle in!
Anyway, set up your box fans in some upstairs windows, blowing out. Then open up some downstairs windows; these then become your cool air intake, with your fans providing your warm air exhaust.
This is what [private] and I do in our apartment. It gets a nice gentle breeze throughout almost the entire apartment (the kitchen is its own little nook, and the air's pretty stationary over there), and it works insanely better than trying to directly pull cool air into the apartment with the fans -- that just results in buffeting and uncomfortable zones right in front of the fans, and still air everywhere else!
Two little box fans in two little windows (one in the bedroom, one in the office), and opening the patio door for the intake, is all it takes for our apartment to stay cool(ish) during 80F and hotter outside!
The friend I got this idea from using the set up I described initially (fans upstairs blowing out, windows open downstairs for intake) in his two-story house, and even though it's only a very narrow/tight stairway (which is not conducive to air flow at all) he says it works great to keep his place cool in the summer; now he's just trying to work out how to get the heat from the wood stove on the first floor up that damnable staircase to the second floor as winter starts to settle in!
Suggestion for the fans: - Kromey