Staying Cool-Solutions and Ideas When There is NO Power

My home was built in the first decade of the 20th century and has some built-in features that help keep things cool without AC. If I have limited power, there is a whole house fan that I can use in the evening until early morning to pull cool air in from the basement and exhaust it out the attic. Even without power, I can open the basement windows and attic windows at night and let the chimney effect pull cool air into the house. In the morning I close up and draw the shades on the sunny side of the house.

To keep individuals cool, I bought some of those high tech cooling towels. You get them damp and then put them on pressure points. As the water in the towel evaporates you get a cooling effect which is amplified by using them on a pressure point - wrists, neck, or groin. Not very useful in high humidity conditions, but that doesn't happen too often or for too long where I'm located. YMMV.

How to Keep Your House Cool (Without Cranking the A/C)
https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/how-to-keep-your-house-cool-without-cranking-the-ac/

(Snip): tips to keep your house cooler when the thermometer creeps up and up, ways to make your A/C use more efficient, as well as what you can do to keep your own person more comfortable.   ---CONTINUED---

12 Best Tips for Keeping Your House Cool without AC
https://commonsensehome.com/keeping-your-house-cool/

Summertime may bring many wonderful things but the extreme heat is not one of them. For many, using air conditioning is not affordable nor available. Here are some tips for keeping your house cool in the summer heat, with or without AC. We use these techniques in steamy South Carolina to reduce our air conditioning bill. Scroll down to see 12 ways to keep house cool without AC.   ---CONTINUED---

13 Ways To Keep Your House Cool In The Summer
https://www.askaprepper.com/13-ways-keep-house-cool-summer/

  Summer heat seems to be intensifying each year. So many are asking how can we possibly stay cool during the summer? AC of course!!! Here are some tips and tricks for living without air conditioning, but what will you do if an earthquake, flood, or tornado knocks out the power grid?

If a major disaster happens during the sweltering summer heat, it is necessary to stay cool and hydrated. This is an issue that not enough people think about. You cannot underestimate the effect of overheating. Did you know that around 400 Americans die of heat every year? The National Weather Service actually claims that overheating is the number one weather killer. And keep in mind that this info is recent. Most Americans already have access to air conditioning!!

So, as preppers and survivalists, we need to do something about this problem.   ---CONTINUED---

15+ Ways to Stay Cool in the Heat
https://momwithaprep.com/15-ways-to-stay-cool-in-summer/

(SNIP) ... While most of us in the United States have air conditioning, especially in the south, not every house has it. And across the world, air conditioning is a luxury in monetary terms, or in time – there just isn’t enough extended hot weather to make it worth paying for. And for some, it is simply a luxury they cannot afford. ---CONTINUED---

How to Stay Cool Without Electricity
https://preparednessadvice.com/medical/how-to-stay-cool-without-electricity/

  With all the heat waves that have been occurring lately this post will give you some tips on how to stay cool when the power is shut down and there is no air conditioning. ---CONTINUED---

How To Stay Cool Without Electricity
https://urbansurvivalsite.com/how-to-stay-cool-without-electricity/

(SNIP) ... Here are the symptom of heat stress and what to do to stay cool and keep yourself, friends, and family healthy and alive when the heat becomes dangerous, especially if you’re without power. ---CONTINUED---

How People Kept Houses Cool Before AC Was Invented
https://urbansurvivalsite.com/how-people-kept-houses-cool-before-air-conditioning/

(SNIP) ... our stalwart forebears survived heat waves without technology, and so can we – if we use some of their know-how. Here are 11 ways people kept their houses cool before AC was commonplace. ---CONTINUED---

When we built this house one of the features I insisted on was a whole house fan. We don't use it a lot, but it sure comes in handy in cooler weather, and when we want to clear the air in the house (mustiness, strong cooking odors, and occasionally, smoke when something gets overcooked...

There are patterns and instructions on Pinterest and other sites for how to make the cooling gel neckerchiefs.