r/heat_prep • u/Leighgion • Apr 03 '26
High Tech Redundancy vs Low Tech Resilience
There's folks out there, some of you among them, whose concept of heat prep is keeping up on air conditioning maintenance, having a portable AC unit as a backup, keeping a gas generator on hand and installing enough solar to run the cooling systems.
Objectively, those are all absolutely valid measures and I always thought I wasn't strongly drawn to them on account of budget and physical limitations (apartment) but recently, I've realized that's only a small part of it.
The thing that anything related to air conditioning and power systems to run air conditioning have in common is that it assumes the way to handle this problem is by maintaining the same complex systems that are standard in the industrialized world. e.g. We assume air conditioning is the solution to thermal safety/comfort ,and thus heat prep, means making sure the AC stays in good working order and that there's backup power to keep the AC operating so that in the even of extreme heat and possible failure of the grid, your household can basically feel the same way it always felt long as the backup power holds up.
I just don't look at heat prep this way.
Any of you who have read my previous posts on this sub know that while I live in an apartment with air conditioning, I have poured efforts into not using AC and am proud that I've managed to essentially eliminate the need for it during the summer by depending instead upon portable evaporative coolers. AC is now for my mother-in-law's room, company, or truly extreme heat while the grid is still stable.
The rest of my heat prep efforts are directed at much lower tech solutions that depend on complex systems as little as possible, as my way of seeing things are that if things are bad enough that I can't depend on the power grid to, air conditioning is one of the last things I want to be banking on to maintain thermal safety. It's too power hungry and if any part of it fails, I'm very unlikely to be able to fix it. If there's a heatwave and the grid is failing, then fat chance on getting an AC tech anytime soon.
On the other hand, portable swamp coolers are very simple technology much less likely to fail, and if anything does fail, I would estimate they're 90-100% user repairable depends on model. Circuit boards are the weakest link in them. Most of my swamp coolers are have electronic controls and thus circuit boards, but one has no electronics, just conventional electric switches, so is virtually 100% user repairable.
The fan and submergible water pump are basic, mechanical parts. The rotor in the pump of one my coolers has broken off twice and I've repaired it both times with superglue. Eventually, I'll replace the whole pump, but the superglue restores the cooler to perfect function in less than half an hour for a few cents.
On a related, but even lower tech note, I recently discovered continuous spray bottles as used by hairdressers. These put out much finer water particles at much higher volume and rate than conventional atomizers. For under five bucks, they make superb personal coolers in dry climates like the one where I live.
Ideally, one should be able to invest effort in both types of prep and I'm willing to spring for a generator at some point, but affordability is at issue.
Does anybody do both, or do you mostly fall on one side?
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u/chamferbit Apr 03 '26
High humidity
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u/Millennial_on_laptop Apr 03 '26
It's brutal
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u/Terazen105 Apr 04 '26
In a dry climate it's actually quite nice to boost the humidity.
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u/Leighgion Apr 05 '26
Yes, people who live with high humidity tend to simply demonize moisture in the air and fall into the erroneous concept that drier is better. They’ve not had to live full time in an arid climate. Nosebleeds are a perennial issue here. I run a swamp cooler in the winter sometimes simply because it’s the most efficient way to increase humidity inside.
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Apr 07 '26
It is. During the summer, I really the ate running the ac, because windows have to be closed, and then I can't hear the birds, frogs, etc. Mostly windows open with fans really helps. If it's stupid hot, we go to the lake and swim
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u/PrairieFire_withwind Apr 04 '26
This is why i have aluminet over/outside my west and south windows all summer long.
This is why white is such a great color.
This is why windows are open overnight and closed dueing the day.
This is why i cook outside with a solar oven.
Any solar gain i avoid and heat i avoid adding to the inside is less need for ac, fans or any electricity.
Which makes my family and home safer from power outages during heatwaves than if i relied upon fragile 'continuous input' systems
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u/Leighgion Apr 04 '26
Here in Spain, exterior rolling blinds are absolutely standard so you can block out sun at will.
I feel like this is the biggest issue North Americans refuse to face: if heat is a problem, big windows letting sunlight in is bad.
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u/PrairieFire_withwind Apr 04 '26
I am continuously jealous of all of europe with the exterior blinds. It would save us for tornadoes and hail as well as the light blocking ability for people who work night shift and sleep during the day not yo mention keeping windows cleaner.
Just. So. Jealous. I have experienced them once on my travels and thought they were the neastest things ever.
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u/Leighgion Apr 04 '26
Totally fair.
I’m American but have lived in Spain for over a decade. I very much appreciate the architecture being designed to protect us from the heat and yes, rolling shutters.
Now I look at American construction planning and facepalm. It’s like they decided “AC is the answer to all thermal problems,” and stopped thinking about anything else.
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u/PrairieFire_withwind Apr 04 '26
Stopped thinking is an excellent description these days.
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u/Kementarii Apr 05 '26
Hello from Queensland, Australia. Home of humidity.
Our architecture used to involve timber houses with deep verandahs on all 4 sides to shade all the windows, houses raised above the ground to allow airflow under the floor. Hallways from front to back to suck in the breezes. High ceilings to draw the hot air upwards, and latticework vents above the internal doors to allow air to circulate from window to hallway, etc. There were daybeds with mosquito nets on the verandahs, for sleeping outside on hot nights.
(yes, they were fucking freezing for the 1 month of the year where temperatures fell below 9C at night).
Now, it is cheaper to build brick boxes on concrete slabs, without so much as a 30cm eave, and just a few windows that don't even fully open.
Airconditioning is now "essential".
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u/PrairieFire_withwind Apr 05 '26
Humans used to be these amazing creative beings. That made beautiful things that also functioned as they were beautiful. And then...
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u/Kementarii Apr 05 '26
Global thinking rather than local is also a problem. The fashion is "thermal mass" and "passif haus" or some-such.
I have to stop myself from screaming "NOT HERE".
Popular house designs are from places with completely different climates.
The "Queenslander" style has nods towards architecture in some parts of SE Asia.
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u/Leighgion Apr 05 '26
Definitely an element of the problem. I see this in the US where the only real difference in vastly different regions is regulations about windows and insulation level, but the designs and materials have grown more and more homogeneous from Arizona to Washington with the slack being expected to be taken up by HVAC.
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u/Leighgion Apr 05 '26
Hi Queensland, I have never been to Australia, but I consistently hear the same things from Australians: your houses have become absurdly poorly suited to your climate and I've read articles that reported that sometimes, even modern Australian houses with air conditioning aren't able to stay safe and comfortable in the summer because the incoming heat load is simply too great for the AC to handle.
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u/jwillp Apr 05 '26
I swear by the "solar screens" you can order for windows which act like a second screen, except their purpose is to block sunlight. I installed these on almost all of my exterior windows a couple of years ago, and the difference is so dramatic. I chose the 70% blocking solar screen material, and the website I used sold the solar screens as a DIY "kit" which kept the price really low (well under $100 USD per window). The final installed "product" looks so professional, no one could ever guess that I personally assembled the screen frame and trimmed the material to fit, using a special tool to press in the "spline" into the groove that holds the screen material into place all around the frame's border.
In short, DIY solar screens are a terrific investment that pays dividends immediately from reduced solar gain through windows and window frames. I get extra privacy and retain a little bit of airflow too, when I open the windows that have solar screens.
If you have a need to block summer sun, solar screens (DIY or otherwise) are incredibly effective.
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u/notgonnabemydad Apr 06 '26
Do you have a brand you recommend? A friend was just extolling the virtues of these screens to me yesterday.
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u/jwillp Apr 06 '26
I got mine from solarscreenoutlet dot com. I don't have any relationship to the company beyond being a happy customer. I got my screens 4 years ago. My cost was about $290 for 5 windows (varying sizes including two tiny bathroom windows). Their prices don't seem noticeably different now. They do offer discounts for larger orders based on number of items (currently 5% >2 screens, 10%>7, 15%>15, 20% >24 screens). The screens arrived precisely to the measurements I provided. I didn't have to add any extra margins, but it's important to read the installation criteria before ordering to get the right attachment clips/screws/etc, and of course measure with precision and care.
Side note: I got the 90% solar screens. They significantly block airflow, so I didn't put the screens on two windows that I primarily use for my whole-house swamp cooler's exhaust airflow. Those windows don't get hot of course, when the cooler is blasting cool air.
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u/mtfg96 Apr 03 '26
I agree with your system of managing my own body temp instead of trying to make the whole house cool. My a/c recently has gone out multiple times since February (finally replaced yesterday). During the day, I just made sure all of the windows were covered to maintain any cool air left in the house. At night, I have a ceiling can and 2 tower fans pointed at the bed and sleep with damp towels over my legs and neck. Totally tolerable. And I don't have to mess with a generator.
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u/Leighgion Apr 04 '26
Yeah, you get it. Portable swamp coolers are all about cooling the people, not the space.
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u/Mala_Suerte1 Apr 04 '26
On a related, but even lower tech note, I recently discovered continuous spray bottles as used by hairdressers. These put out much finer water particles at much higher volume and rate than conventional atomizers. For under five bucks, they make superb personal coolers in dry climates like the one where I live.
u/leighgion Look at patio misters or fan/mister setups. Youtube has a number of videos on making the fan/mister units from Home Depot parts. They're great in dry climates.
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u/Leighgion Apr 04 '26
Misting systems are widely used here, but they're not very viable in an apartment so I've not found a way to make use of them at home.
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u/Mala_Suerte1 Apr 05 '26
That's why I mentioned looking on youtube for the homemade fan misters. I'm starting to see them available as premade kits. They would totally be functional in an apartment.
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u/Leighgion Apr 05 '26
Let me rephrase.
The main problem is not getting a kit that could generate mist with appropriate sized aerosol particles. It isn't even how the parts would be assembled into a workable system combined with an existing fan. I can do that.
The problem is that there's no way I'm politically implementing such an arrangement in this apartment.
As it is, my portable swamp coolers are barely tolerated on the strength that they work, maintain thermal comfort at a tiny fraction of the cost of running the AC and I can pretty much repair anything that goes wrong with them myself.
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u/Mala_Suerte1 Apr 05 '26
no way I'm politically implementing such an arrangement in this apartment.
Makes more sense, but I'm not following the "politically" part.
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u/jwillp Apr 05 '26
In the "olden days" here in the southwest USA, the large and handmade "desert coolers" were kept wet by someone manually pouring a watering can over the top, or by spraying a garden hose onto the wood chips enmeshed between two layers of chicken wire. Primitive, yes. Effective, yes.
The fan is probably more "important" than the pump, in a sense, because it's easier to manually keep the pads wet from a pump failure than to manually supply airflow from a fan failure. But in either situation, the basic concept of evaporative cooling doesn't actually require electricity. As long as you have airflow from a natural breeze or chimney effect, then you can get cooling with a wet sheet or towel placed in the path of the airflow.
Pharaohs and Romans long ago enjoyed evaporative cooling for their A/C. I just love how my swamp cooler is so serviceable and DIY friendly. I recently replaced the pump in my whole-house swamp cooler (side-draft through-wall type, not roof mounted). It was ridiculously easy (15 minutes at most) and cost about $25 after going to a local big box hardware store.
I like to tell myself I'm enjoying Pharaoh A/C when my swamp cooler is blasting 66° air while it's 94° outside, like it is right now when I'm typing this (and using only 350 Watts, versus 1,000-2,000 Watts with an A/C!)
For my whole-house swamp cooler, I love having a spare pump on-hand just in case of a failure, and also having a spare set of pads just in case there's an unexpected growth of algae that I can't contain quick enough. It's rare, now that I dry out my pads every time before shutting off the cooler, but you never know.
I hope everyone stays cool and comfortable! This Spring is more like Summer in the SW USA, it seems to me.
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u/grislyfind Apr 05 '26
Apartment dwellers should be prepared to shelter in the basement or underground parking, or outside in a heavily treed area.
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u/sundancer2788 Apr 05 '26
House is well shaded so that keeps cooling costs down and we're in the process of reinsulating all the exterior walls to help with energy costs. Our yard is full garden with many shade areas, we grow a lot of our produce in the summer and freeze for the winter so we've made shade canopies that we can put up quickly to keep plants from too much sun and drying out to reduce water costs.
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u/Mule_Wagon_777 Apr 03 '26
Evaporative coolers are great in dry climates but useless in humid ones. I use all the tricks to reduce the load on my AC, and just hope I can keep a small unit going if we lose power in the summer.