Cheapest Ways to Cool your Home - You Won't Believe #3

In-Depth Info & Products: twobitdavinci.com/4422/stayin...
Summer is here and that means hot houses and high electric bills, or does it? We sat down and brainstormed some cheap affordable ways to stay cool this summer and bought some stuff in the name of science so we could make recommendations for you! Here are 5 Tips to Stay COOL & Save $$ This Summer!
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00:00 Introduction
00:39 Ceiling Fans
01:13 Measurement Devices
02:05 Window Heat Film
05:16 Attic Fans
05:58 Whole House Fan
06:18 Swamp Cooler
13:58 Window AC
14:52 Whole House AC Tips
15:29 Get Solar!
16:22 Closing
Things we'll discuss:
two bit da vinci,how to keep your house cool,how to cool down a room,air conditioning,life hacks,house hot in the summer,staying cool,swamp cooler vs air conditioner,evaporative air cooler,evaporative cooling,evaporative cooling system,whole house fan review,whole house fan vs attic fan,whole house fan installation,solar,saving money cooling,staying cool without ac,staying cool in the summer,staying cool off grid,5 Tips to Stay COOL & Save $$ This Summer

[@TwoBitDaVinci]

In-Depth Info & Products: twobitdavinci.com/4422/staying-cool

[@InconsistentManner]

for being a youtuber... you certainly could have watched a few videos on how to tint a window

[@haidarkarar1469]

*This air conditionings is not good and not efficient for long time because as a lot of Electric things and metals and walls inside the house will destroy by the humidity and you will need showers more than normal, we used to use it in Syria and our atmosphere there is dry , just put more solar panels for your normal air-condition and use it better for you* 🌹👍

[@TheAnticorporatist]

Hey Ricky, you might want to try just cutting a strip, (like 2’ wide or so) out of your drywall and then using a broom or something like that to shove insulation into the walls before then slapping fresh drywall on the studs, taping, reminding and painting it; much cheaper than redoing all of it! (I discovered this when they were replacing the windows on the sides of my Cali apartment, you should try that!)

[@sierraharvester]

Even in fairly dry climates, an evaporative cooler can add enough moisture to cause mold concerns; be careful. Instead of attic fans, consider attic sealing. Insulate the roof of your attic to prevent heat from entering in the first place. If you go with an attic fan, make sure you have enough air movement to counter solar gain. Remember, your attic intakes heat through convection, conduction, and radiant transfer. An attic fan only removes heat via convection and rarely can overcome the solar gain and heat stored in the thermal mass of the roof itself. Basically, if you can afford to insulate, that is the best first step.

[@kevintewey1157]

If your windows cost $24,000 your house is big enough for five families why is it only housing one?

[@Kittzz]

Don't use the interior applied tints on Low E argon filled windows. It will expand the inner gas and cause the seals to fail. Instead buy an Exterior Tint that gets applied to the OUTSIDE of the window. This will reflect the heat away before heating the gasses in the windows.

[@jrherita]

Is the deal that you tint windows if you're in a hotter climate, but probably don't want them tinted in colder climates?

[@colinvanful]

better still just fit a sun shade above the window to stop direct sunlight hitting it in the first place

[@anydaynow01]

@@colinvanful Yes this, those retractable sun shades are worth their weight in gold in Florida.

[@nacoran]

@@colinvanful You can to pergola sun roofs that have gaps between the boards. You look up the elevation for your area and adjust the angle you set them at for your location. When they are angled correctly they block sun in the summer but allow it through in the winter.

[@davepeterschmidt5818]

@@colinvanful Bingo! And if you position it right you can block the high summer sun while allowing the low winter sun to come in and help augment your furnace.

[@Steamrick]

I took old bedsheets, cut them in half and shut them into the windowframes (with the cloth on the outside) on hot days to keep the sun from shining directly inside. The effect is enormous - my apartment heats up much slower. Combined with keeping windows open through the night to let things cool down and I barely ever need to run my AC unit.

[@eaaeeeea]

This seems by far the easiest and cheapest option to block the windows, thanks!

[@dr.mikeybee]

If you soak the sheets in water, you'll get the evaporative cooling effect too.

[@Steamrick]

@@dr.mikeybee I'm not going to use evaporative cooling and turn my house into a muggy swamp. That'd be even more miserable.

[@AKHWJ3ST]

@@dr.mikeybee But you'll have to rewet them every hour or so because they will dry quickly. And it will make the inside dark. I hate a dark room!

[@maxasaurus3008]

Brilliant, your idea should be included along with white paint for roofs for folks trying to survive in the developing world. But I don’t think it would do anything for evap cooling if the sheets are outside the window. I’m with you, I don’t like evap cooling.

[@dr.mikeybee]

I installed exterior shades on my last home's south-facing side. My summer electric bill fell by 30%. My previous residence had exterior bamboo shades. I really liked the look of those. I could still see out through them but not in. Currently, here in Arkansas, I keep my central air set to 79. In addition, I run a small window unit set to 72 in my finished basement. It's naturally cooler there. And with the A/C, it's very comfortable. I don't mind 79 for short stretches when I need to go upstairs. This past month it was blistering with temperatures between 90 and 100 most days, and my electric bill was under $100. I think that's pretty good for an all-electric home with no solar.

[@willow-wf3jf]

How did you hang the shades outside your window? I've only usually seen those bamboo shades hung inside or on porches but not outside a normal window. Also, it seems like the light would get really dim. How big is your residence? I live in a small apartment and electric/water/sewer was over 180. I'm trying to figure out how to lower the bill.

[@glenngriffith7166]

With evaporative cooling, you must vent the room. I live in Tucson and once lived in a home with evaporative cooling. We used vents into the attic so the moisture didn't fill the room and the attic stayed much cooler.

[@Dave--FkTheDeepstate]

Great idea, thanks. I live near Phoenix. Are there many days there that's just too hot for the Evap? And do you have any concerns about mold in the attic?

[@glenngriffith7166]

@@Dave--FkTheDeepstate we had no problem with mold as the air, vented into the attic and out through the eve vents plus a turbine vent I added near the roof peak.

[@GeoFry3]

@@Dave--FkTheDeepstate the biggest problem with evap cooling is it only cools the air down so much. So if it is 115F outside the evap would knock it down to 90. An improvement, but still kind of sucks and you just just boosted the inside humidity from 15% to 50%. We would run it at night so the house would get down to ~60F. Then shut it off during the day and just run fans. By the evening the house would be back up in the 80s F which is actually quite comfortable when the humidity is well below 50% with ceiling fans.

[@DistracticusPrime]

I like the idea of a two-stage cooler. First stage is evaporative, second stage is compressive. Humidity goes up only between the two stages, and the compressor drains distilled water back into the evaporator. If you have two window coolers, you can do this manually by having one of each type and moving the drain cup daily.

[@dchungmanson]

I used evaporative cooler in Melbourne Australia , very cheap to run and keeps the air fresh in the house due to forced circulation from air drawn by a fan on the ceiling through water curtain into the house out through slightly open windows . But this system can only be used in dry hot climate .

[@FreekHoekstra]

The window film is nice, but what you really want is an awning. Keep the heat outside keep the view.

[@_yadokari]

While also allowing a lower sun to shine through in the winter.

[@robyndiehn888]

One Pro Tipp for the window heat film: If you install it on the ouside + not directly on the glass then it has the highest cooling effect. The heat film gets hot but does not heat up the glass behind because there is no direct contact so less heat gets into the house. It acts then as a transparent heat shadow for the window. Only disadvantage is the slight noise it makes when the wind blows around it but this might be avoided by spanning the heat film on a wooden frame. That way it could be easily mounted in the summer time and taken off in winter time too. Other than that, cool projects you have shown there that can save a lot of energy and money. Especially in an arid region an evaporation based cooling might also help to keep the humidity in a level that is good for humans (50-60%) and reduces costs on cooling. I would just use an indoor one so that water will not evaporate to the outside if the device is not on.

[@dr.mikeybee]

In Texas, we had exterior sun-blocking screens that worked well. Everyone had them there.

[@cristibaluta]

In Europe we have blinds. You can apply the film on another piece of glass that will be easy to remove once the summer is over

[@cristibaluta]

In Europe we have blinds. You can apply the film on another piece of glass that will be easy to remove once the summer is over

[@abo3mmar87]

Thank you @robyn for this information and cool idea.

[@KJSvitko]

Tinted Window film is great. I used it on my home and it made the rooms much more comfortable. There are installers you can hire if you're not handy or want a professional installation. It is just like tinting windows on your car to keep it cooler.

[@dewiz9596]

With judicious use of an exhaust fan in a window, and another window open, I’ve managed to cut my air conditioner use to about 30 hours so far this season. . . at 45 degrees north latitude. . . My electricity bill works out to less than CDN $78/month. Evaporative coolers are great in extremely dry areas. Here in Ottawa, it gets very humid.

[@williammeek4078]

That’s great as long as you don’t have allergies.

[@nacoran]

I don't know if there are commercial options, but it seems a smart fan, hooked to the thermostat, with temperature sensors outside, could turn the fans on judiciously for you. If I was building a dream house I'd want electric windows that could be opened by the thermostat based on indoor/outdoor temperatures (maybe even something plugged into the cloud that would let you filter for air quality issues, although opening the windows with a push fan blowing through a filter could get pretty good air quality by keeping your house at positive air pressure. (There are commercial electric windows, I just don't know if there is a software package set up to monitor it all.) You could automate your blinds too. I live in Upstate, NY. My apartment used to be much more comfortable in the winter when I had incandescent bulbs (but much worse in the summer). Again, if I was building a dream house I think I'd design light fixtures that could switch modes- if you have electric heat having incandescents on in rooms your in isn't going to waste any more electricity than having LEDs on and your heat turned up, and some of that heat will be radiant. You could have a bulb that switches between incandescent, full on heat lamp (good if you are going into a colder room for a few minutes rather than heating the whole room), and LED... maybe throw some grow lights on when you aren't in the room for your plants in the winter.

[@glike2]

I am in the coastal area of Southern California which has a 3-month hot and humid season in the late summer and I use fans running at night to almost completely eliminate air conditioning during the day except for maybe one room.

[@volatilememory9338]

@@glike2 How do you setup your fans for exhaust and intake?

[@xylostyle]

That's why it's often called a desert cooler. The commonest name is "swamp cooler" which is a complete misnomer.

[@dhincks1]

Would it be better to put film on the outside? My mom years ago got a mylar shade boy did it make a difference when down. What was nice is at night you could put it up. We had an awesome view from the Berkeley hills looking out the Golden gate. Cheers from Northern California!!!

[@TwoBitDaVinci]

Love the Berkeley hills! Go bears!

[@JonahHax]

solar film is supposed to be on the outside so the wind can help remove the heat from it. read instructions.

[@diamonddbw]

When I lived in SoCal, I installed a 'Whole House Fan'. By applying the "run at night" principle, and closing up the house before going to work, this kept the a/c from coming on until much later in the day. The window tinting stuff, requires you consider how much heat you want to come in during colder (freezing) winter days, so may be a location dependent consideration. Thanks for videos like this.

[@MiniRockerz4ever]

Our ancestors just covered the windows from the outside with wooden gates or something like that...

[@evolv.e]

Installing a 3 speed whole house fan (Quiet Cool) last year was easily worth it. We also live in SoCal and our experience is similar to yours. Gets the hot air out of the attic and on most nights, can get the home below 72 degrees w/o using the A/C .. for hotter days, it greatly minimizes how often we need to run the A/C.

[@nacoran]

I live in an apartment. They kept cutting the bush down outside my bedroom window. I got frustrated because people would walk right past and be able to see in. My solution was to get some of that magnetic tape and put it around my window, and then to get some sheets of fogged plexiglass, and hang them in the windows. I did kind of a sloppy job of it, but it worked fairly well. I didn't bother cutting them to fit each window so the window could be opened. If you did that, and then put the window treatment on the plexiglass you could put the plexiglass in the windows during the summer and store it in the winter when you want to be gaining heat.

[@diamonddbw]

@@nacoran Xlnt

[@GroovyVideo2]

film can be made Removable by using only distilled water to hold film in place - dont peel off film backing - i use this method - works well -

[@I_report_scammers_spammers]

I also recommend Solar Screens. They are a big thing here in Texas. And you forgot trees. ;) Also, thermal drapes will help.

[@alexp1329]

Window shades and awnings are more effective then tint. Not to mention the ancient way of staying cool, some call them trees. Tree location is important!

[@tyronejones1435]

I don't have a "Whole House Fan" but, I'll use a box fan in my attic access doorway to get a breeze through the house. Just open the windows where you want the breeze to come from. Pulls through the house up in the attic and out of the roof vents.

[@GroovyVideo2]

i did same thing - worked well

[@itcanwait]

Love all the great ideas from the comments! Thanks for the help.

[@rtfazeberdee3519]

try and find away to stop the sunlight getting directly into the rooms. a lot of places in Europe where its stinking hot they have shutters that you can close when the sun is direct

[@terrafirma9328]

Awnings, shade wall with plants, trellis, lattice with vines, etc.

[@glike2]

An evaporative cooler needs a really really dry environment because as you increase the humidity in the air you decrease the ability for your perspiration to cool you off. There is a rule of thumb for the maximum wet bulb temperature I believe and I don't remember the exact number.

[@meleardil]

What if you combine the evaporative cooler with a heat exchanger? you just blow through the cooled air in one branch and use it to col the non-humid air, which then goes to the room? you lose efficiency, butt on the other hand it can be run indefinitely, no vapor saturation.

[@KevinLyda]

A friend in Boston had his roof painted white. It worked rather well. But yes, the solar panels can have a similar effect. Where you are, you might see if solar PV / thermal panels make sense to boost your hot water and make the PV part more efficient.

[@Nic7320]

There's a white house in Washington DC too, but the recent ex-tenants are now in hot water.

[@TimePlaysLifePasses]

If you’re planning to do it, check with your HOA. Many don’t allow it.

[@evil17]

@@TimePlaysLifePasses Really! Why is that, because of reflection to aircraft or what? White is the most practical and efficient colour for many things, cars, houses, etc. Solar panels can have a huge passive cooling effect from shading with a breezeway under has an enormous cooling effect covering our Skillion type roof over our main living area with 10Kw of solar panels neatly cools our living area around 5-6 degree Centigrade or more till 11am instead of getting hot at 7-8am in summer in Qld, Australia, so we use a little bit of A/Con (2x2.5kw & 1x5kw split A/C’s) & still got a $280 in 1st year of using solar. Yay!

[@TimePlaysLifePasses]

@@evil17 I don’t think HOAs are concerned about aircraft. They’re in my opinion mostly concerned about maintaining status quo, with the general idea that anything out of the norm has a risk of reducing perceived property value !

[@Robert-cu9bm]

@@Nic7320 Yeah, they painted it because of heat damage.

[@edwardlopez8712]

I use the same evaporative cooler for my home in San Jose. I crack the windows in the kitchen and upstairs bedroom to allow the hot hair blow out and act like a whole house fan. I use in the morning to cool the house then once the house gets to 68 degrees I turn it off and close the windows. In the evening when it cools down outside around sunset, I again open the window upstairs and run the evaporative cooler to blow fresh cool air into the house, the hot air rises and goes out the upstairs windows. It really works great and saves a lot of electricity. One other thing, my house is painted white - this helps reflect the sunlight and keep the house cool. I also added gable vents to my attic.

[@evil17]

All good points Ed, sounds like ur all over the evaporative unit mate & I like also the “WHITE” house part, this is where the real cooling effect is; with better house planning from the start if you can, double glaze (if affordable/viable), insulation is always worth it, in Australia we face houses North ideally, Solar panels also give a tremendous shade & breezeway cooling affect to roof area’s, passive roof venting, shutter blinds can help, especially over Patio area’s with maybe a darker floor for winter heating, tinting windows, good airflow for less A/C or Evaporative requirements and dont have a dark roof like seems trendy nowadays, solar LED for dark areas, and WHITE,WHITE, WHITE! Inside and out keeps cool and helps reduce lighting bills. Cheers!

[@edlum1861]

A $80 roll up sun shade from Costco outside would out perform tint, blinds or anything mounted inside.

[@robertstout7756]

Thank you for all the wonderful information I’ve learned from you over the years. A variable that many don’t understand about air movement like a ceiling fan is that it helps evaporate your sweat through convection (evaporative cooling) it’s not that you sweat more when the fan is off.

[@510purple]

im a NETA electrical technician. my boss just sent me to IR school last week. I passed my exam and now I am a level one thermographer. doing a load bank scan on a generator right now, just killing time to let the conductors warm up from the load bank. Cool video!!

[@TwoBitDaVinci]

congrats on the certs! very cool stuff! you'll have no shortage of work my friend. cheers!

[@JHess]

nice video. and yes to ceiling fans. some words on swamp coolers. what you see in the back is not 'coils'. it's an absorbent pad medium. in your case it's a thick honeycomb paper medium. yes, you need to connect water to it so you don't have to fill it up every few hours. also, swamp coolers work by creating pressure in your house and airflow. with the size cooler you have you could probably crack open a window on the other side of the house (or wherever you want to direct the air) and it will cut down on the humidity. IF THE AIR IS HUMID OUTSIDE, turn off the pump and just run the fan. the high humid air being pulled through the swamp cooler should be enough to 'dampen' the absorbent pad and still cool. if you end up having the whole house fan then that could help move the air. but opening another windows somewhere in the house WILL still cool the house because the swamp cooler will be pushing cool air through the house and out the other window that is open just a crack. and yes you can also run a dehumidifier, but honestly if you need one then you're doing something wrong and need to open some part of your house so the air can flow. just a tip from a native arizonan. ps, i've never needed an ac unit even in 120degree weather. ;)

[@TwoBitDaVinci]

yes yes yes and yes. thanks for the insights!

[@GGN-92]

True! The best way is to get solar!

[@PhiTonics]

What you want is "Ceramic window tint" They use it for cars, but make it clear as well for windshields, cuts about 90% of the heat, it's incredible stuff, it can actually crack glass it rejects so much heat. They also make ceramic paint that dose the same 👌

[@TristenHernandez]

This is a great video and it should have a lot more of these but 163,000 is not too shabby! It’s so awesome how your channel has grown. I hope this is your full-time job now.

[@maxlee3838]

You gotta crack a window elsewhere to allow the air from the evaporative air to escape your home… this also is how you control the flow of cool air through your home.

[@TwoBitDaVinci]

Yes!

[@terrafirma9328]

Highest window on the south west corner is hotest. You could also consider installing a bathroom exhaust fan in the highest south west corner room of the house to push out the hottest air. And your swamp cooler fan in the lowest north east corner where the air is shaded and least hot.

[@larsonfamilyhouse]

@@terrafirma9328 this!

[@evil17]

Good vid 2Bit and a lot of great comments of other things we can do too. White outside and in is a Biggy for cooling and lighting, Solar Panels are also great for cooling with an added passive cooling effect u get from the roof shading & breezeway under, roof venting helps and insulation is always worth it. Evaporative must have airflow throughout, so you must open a window or door at least slightly to allow airflow when using Evaporative A/C’s. Solar PV for Hotwater also makes better sense than other method nowadays and Inverter A/Cons are more efficient for running with Solar now too. Solar Skylights & vents all help and shutters over patios to let light and heat in for winter and shade in summer. We face houses North here in Australia if possible for better Solar gain. Cheers

[@robertcarveth8722]

I have been using an ordinary fan for cooling bedrooms at night. Ones that have a square container so that the window can be drawn up and lock them in place. A particle board piece closes off the rest of the window gap. Most heat at night is excess heat stored in the house during the day, and once the cool night air outside is pumped into the room it quickly cools the room down to such an extend that you have to turn the fan off in an hour or so. This fit out costs $30.00 per room.

[@PaulGrayUK]

Brilliant, your kid doing "I am a robot" what a star.

[@TwoBitDaVinci]

totally unscripted, he just walked over and started talking into it lol! thank you Paul :)

[@rogermccaslin5963]

I had a boss a few years ago that thought those evaporative coolers were the ticket to cool the shop. I told him that it was going to be a mistake to use them here in Florida. Most of the time he would listen to advice but if he made his mind up... He went ahead and bought 4 of them at about $2400 each. These were large industrial units. The fans were either 48 or 52 inches in diameter (can't remember for sure). The evaporative cores started growing mold. The odor was bad and the employees complained about the added humidity. You could stand in front of them and you definitely felt cooler but it was also clammy and uncomfortable. We ended up removing the pads and disconnecting the water and just using them as large, expensive fans. Definitely not recommended for South Florida.

[@justinw1765]

Your boss is not very bright.

[@joeroganpodfantasy42]

It looks like you didn't know how to explain humidity to him and prob you weren't sure yourself.

[@rogermccaslin5963]

@@joeroganpodfantasy42 Yeah, because I don't know what humidity is.🙄

[@joeroganpodfantasy42]

@@rogermccaslin5963 Yeah I knew it.

[@paulbrouyere1735]

I have some other tips concerning colour. Dark colors attract more heat, light colors reflect more. Widely applicable for outside materials like window frames, wall paintings and roof tiles, even terras floors. Inside flooring becomes hotter when dark and sun shining on it. Another good idea is to use the roof like a sunscreen so it creates shadow on wall and windows when the sun is high in summer. In winter sun is coming in much lower.

[@paulogden7417]

Here’s an idea: build a pergola around the south and west faces of your house and roof it with solar panels. Consider overlapping it a foot or so over your flat roof. Benefits: solar energy, outdoor shade, indoor shade, no rain on your windows, and some protection for the edge seams on your roof. Also, you may find that because this is considered ground mount solar you do not need module level rapid shutdown, saving thousands on a large solar installation.

[@madcow3417]

3:44 I think thermal cameras can't measure a window temperature directly. They tend to act like mirrors so you're measuring a reflection. The floor measurement you took right after should be useful though. You'll have to play with it to verify, mine is cheap and is maybe missing a filter or something.

[@rcpmac]

No, you aren't missing anything. You are correct about measuring windows and getting the reflection instead. The solution is to put a piece of masking tape on the window and measure that. - energy auditor using a $14,000 IR cam

[@Eric_Tennant]

@@rcpmac Just wrong. You can't see past it is the only rule. -Don't care who you are.

[@scottthomas6202]

Years ago, I rented a house that had a attic( or whole house ) fan. Unless it was truly miserable hot out, it did really well. I turned it on in May and off in October. The house was designed with the fan in mind, it wasn't just tacked on later.

[@CaedenV]

Evaporative coolers are amazing if you live in a dry place! But to get the full effectyou want an intake and outtake fan. This will keep the room cool, and keep the humidity under control. I use to run a warehouse and it is amazing how well 1 large evaporative cooler can work. I also installed some reflective window film on the south facing windows in the office area and wow! We rarely needed to run the AC after that!

[@Dave--FkTheDeepstate]

I live near Phoenix, and have energy & cost efficiency OCD, so thanks for this info !

[@TwoBitDaVinci]

totally hear you Dave, I'm pretty old school myself!

[@Jeffdoeswhat]

Evaporative coolers don’t work well in east texas with high humidity we have. But do recommend window tint.

[@darrellscrivner9216]

All good tips. I also love my whole house fan (Colorado). Have you looked at a “solar shade” or “shade cloth sail”? Especially for the south facing wall. It will allow you to shade the windows and the wall in the summer and just take it down in cool weather (San Diego have cool weather?). Oh and thank you for the fantastic content. Please check out a product called aluminet. It’s a reflective shade net that lets breezes through but comes in various weaves to allow different percentages of sunlight through.

[@vr4042]

I use one of the portable versions for the garage and back patio, but even in the garage and with a starting humidity of about 5% it quickly becomes a sweltering jungle. Partly because the reduced temperature is still about 85 degrees (from 110) and now it is about 50% humidity. As a temporary solution or for outdoor patios evaporative cooling is useful, but with modern AC units (with some shade over the windows) is overall more efficient (ie considering the energy cost of clean water to evaporate) and it doesn't fill the house with humidity which may cause mold. And mold is a big problem in San Diego within about 3-5 miles of the ocean.

[@AndrewKuntzman]

We love our swamp cooler and we use dehumidifiers to get rid of it, my wife usually gets our house down in the 60s with that thing. It’s amazing

[@maxlee3838]

I had an old landlord who showed us to crack a window; the air pressure would then direct the air to that room while getting rid of the humidity.

[@justinw1765]

Dehumidifiers add back in heat unfortunately.

[@timrothgeb416]

To keep your attic cooler try Radiant barrier. If you use PVT solar panels you can use the thermal energy with an absorption cycle AC unit to cool your house. Otherwise, you can install solar thermal panels for the thermal input to the absorption cycle AC. You may also want to put in some thermal energy storage. I would suggest a phase change system.

[@SkepticalCaveman]

Window film is brilliant, since it's completely passive and uses no energy. It's really affordable also so *everyone* should use it, even people with AC, because you will save that money back fast.

[@GrrDraxin1]

Evaporative coolers are fine for the most part, but since you have a pool, here's an idea. A twist on the whole house fan idea, if you would. Take a large automotive radiator, plumb it into your pool's filtration and heating system and have sizable fan blowing air through it. It can be placed either in the living space or in the attic to cool it down. As long as the water doesn't go over 90 to104 degrees Fahrenheit, you'll be getting low cost heating for the pool and low cost cooling for wherever you place the radiator.

[@olympicfireball]

They make professionals systems that do that now. But that sounds like a good diy version of it. A tech youtuber is doing to house for his servers somewhat recently.

[@grizzlygrizzle]

Another piggy-back idea for evaporative coolers might be to use an evap cooler to cool the air blowing on the condenser coil of the AC unit. It would require a lot of tweaking, but for a hot dry climate with adequate water supply, it would in theory cool the condenser coil and lower the load on the AC unit, and wouldn't increase the indoor humidity. Sizing the two units for maximum efficiency would require a dedicated and curious person with a passion for cooling and tinkering.

[@majid_us]

Please take a look at Mini-split units for cooling and heating (the inverter type). The normal SEER is 20 but I have seen as high as 38.

[@olympicfireball]

I live in socal and mini splits are a big difference in reducing operations costs based on what I have seen in terms of numbers for the area. Our next replacement I hope is one as we are not likely able to go to passive standard with issues with our HOA.

[@garretlevi]

I bought some of that window film like a year ago and kept putting off installing it. Now that I see how well it works, I guess I know what I'm doing this evening! Lol

[@TwoBitDaVinci]

good luck man, yeah it's a little fiddly and takes some patience, but take your time to really clean the window well. turn off any fans to keep dust out of the air, and just take your time ... cheers!

[@hotdognl70]

Just be aware of the fact that there is a risk on blowing the seal on gas filled windows or cracked panes by overheating the pane. Applying the film on the outside will reduce those risks.

[@evancombs5159]

If you can afford it, upgrading your house to the passive house standard is probably the best option. When you prevent air from passively entering or escaping your house with proper insulation, you need very little cooling to keep the house cool. Now, the elimination of passive air transfer means you would eventually use up all of the oxygen in your house, so you have to actively control the transfer of outside air into the house and inside air out of the house. Because this is controlled, you can perform a heat transfer at the same time, reducing the amount of heat being brought into the house from the outside world. As I suggested on a previous video, I think looking into what it would cost to upgrade your little abode into a passive house would make for an interesting video.

[@pjstew9331]

I Agree.

[@rcpmac]

Oh really? How do you keep your house cool passively when it's 95 deg outside? Please explain.

[@evancombs5159]

@@rcpmac the word passive is just branding, you still have an A/C system. Due to the way the house is constructed the A/C system just has to do a lot less work to keep the heat out as there isn't any passive transfer of air between the inside and outside, and because the house uses more insulation than normal.

[@midnite22767]

Building a house in the Caribbean soon. Glad I watched this video, thanks!

[@TwoBitDaVinci]

Have fun sounds amazing!

[@jwt1035]

Two criticisms of your application of window films. 1) On double-paned windows, the film should be on the outside. This is because, as you showed, the window becomes much hotter, leading to premature failure of the seals. 2) In the northern hemisphere, application on the south-facing windows prevents passive heating during the winter months, requiring you to run the heater more than you otherwise would. Application should have been on the west facing windows to block the sun at peak summer heat.

[@Sean_S1000]

was enjoying the video and the like came because of the jump in the pool, i need to like more of the videos keep up the good work Ricky and team!

[@arthurhamlin6594]

I was very surprised to see a window AC cut into the wall these days. Instead, buy a split duct system to have a small little hole instead, and added bonus: it can be used as a heater in the winter time.

[@rcpmac]

A couple of companies are making window heat pumps now but I don't have one. I live in seattle and probably need cooling for 15 days per year. I have a super efficient LG window AC unit that generates 14,000 btu's (1.20 tons) of cooling, is dual inverter driven like a ductless unit and runs on 120 volts. It consumes 1150 watts. I run it for 12 hours and estimate the cost to run this unit at $1.50 per day. Cost of the unit was $550 at homedepot. Lastly, this AC unit is using R32 refrigerant which has a global warming factor 3x smaller than the refrigerant in all available ductless units. (R132) Daikin has 1 DHP single ductless that runs on R32. Not a bad solution.

[@EarthCreature.]

This is great. You're teaching rich people how to properly spend their money. I salute you

[@jacoboneill2494]

I use a tub of ice and a circulating fan with the stove fan on high. That helps a lot. Also blocking windows completely with something white on the outside (blinds), black on the inside (dollar store shower curtains) keeps the heat and light out. The process is probably about as difficult as adding the reflective tinting. Great video!

[@kenhanson4015]

I had a large 4 pad swamp cooler on the roof for 25 years until I built a house with HVAC. When I was home, I would open windows where I needed to cool. When away, I wanted the windows closed for security. I installed 2 flapper vents in the cover of the hole for attic access. With the cooler on and the windows all closed, the flappers would rise up and vent air through the attic, cooling it off as well. You could feel the cool air coming out of the gable vents on each end of the house. It was totally automatic and kept the humidity from building up in the house. I ran the swamp cooler on a timer, so when I came home to a cool house and a cheap electric bill it made me smile. I also had a by-pass on the pump that dumped a small amount of water down the sewer vent and brought in more fresh water which kept the salt buildup in check. I also painted the pan with the tar stuff made for that to keep it from rusting out. I have never seen a swamp cooler last 25 years. The guy that bought the house ripped that all out and put in refrigerated air. I guess he liked high electrical bills.

[@TwoBitDaVinci]

That’s awesome! Love the idea of flappers

[@kennethcoutinho4439]

Yeah in Goa in the old Portuguese houses they have sloped window shades outside so the sunlight does not fall directly on the windows but on the shades also tiled roofs very high so hot air escapes thru the gaps in the tiles.

[@Kawitamamayi]

I used evaporated cooling since over 50 years and know what a great idea it is. Now I also live in San Diego and know just how high the mineral content of the water is. I hope you have a whole house water softener otherwise there will be a lot of scale build up on that swamp cooler.

[@tjs114]

The house I grew up in during the 1970s had a swamp cooler in Northern California. It was constantly needing work because our local water was so hard that the lines would clog with calcium after about 30 hours of running.

[@sandponics]

Hot air rises, and so small ceiling vents can be used to exhaust hot air that accumulates close to the ceiling out of a room. Also, humid air (water vapor) is lighter than dry air and so a lot of humid air can also be exhausted out of a room via a ceiling vent (which may not work in very humid locations). I live in a location that has very hot and dry summers and small ceiling vents in each room take a significant amount of heat out of each room. During winter you can easily block the vents to prevent losing any heat that you ideally want to retain.

[@pontifexcrocdylus2716]

If you have windows on the southern face of your home, putting a shade over the outside can help. You can even check the angle of the dune during winter to ensure you get light during cooler months.

[@Skiridr22]

So it blocks the heat but still let a lot of light in, I’m sold 👍🏾👍🏾

[@jeffconway1953]

Here in Missouri we get all four seasons so I am wondering if it would be practical to remove the film in the fall, stow it away and then put it back up in late spring?

[@terrafirma9328]

Install it on a removable exterior "storm" window😉

[@SuperJLTube]

I never understood why manufacturers let all the condensate run onto the ground. You'd think they'd take advantage of evaporative cooling and pump the condensate over the hot coils on the outside. There are also some good old school methods of cooling your house such as tree placement, adding shade is a great way to reduce the sun hitting your home, deciduous up here so that when foliage drops in the fall, sun gets full solar. Also a thing my friend showed me years ago. A coil of black water pipe buried underground with one end coming from outside and the other in. When they opened the roof hatch it drawed the cool air in. You could probably throw a long coil under your house and not even bury it but it actually worked very well.

[@jonnafry]

Good idea. I wonder if the swamp cooler was a little deeper you could isolate the outside cooling process from the inside living area with a sealed conductive panel (aluminium?) , heavily finned, and get a temperature gradient through to the interior where you pass air over the inside finned surface. The cooling occurs in the outside compartment but is extracted on the inside surface. Maybe not as effective in temperature drop but no humidity issues due to isolation of the evaporative cooling process... or maybe wouldn't even work??? who knows??

[@cryptickcryptick2241]

Some AC units do take advantage of the condensate water. One window unit I have splashes it onto the outside coils to aid in cooling the hot side of the ac unit. Some inside AC units with hoses evaporate the condensate and send it out the vented hoses. I believe this is not done more as water can have a long term negative effect on the coils. I believe the more water there is, the more it can lead to rusting, corrosion and breakdown of units. On a cheap window unit that is used lightly (just when it is super hot) this is not a big deal, but on a central HVAC expected to run for 30 years extra water would shorten the life of the coils making it a bad thing.

[@lazerathhome]

You could add shade roofs over your windows and that cuts ALL your windows from getting hot and radiating heat. Costs more initially but cuts down on heat.

[@ThailandAmazing]

Best way is to put a white awning up to shade house. I bought big sail shades. They shade house. This keeps house surface from getting hot. Cheap and really works. Looks cool

[@rklauco]

Another great one. I'll try the window film, too, on the southern side, just for fun :)

[@RunaroundAtNight]

We had a swamp cooler and a whole house fan in N. Calif when I was kid, but in the south, where I live now, both would introduce too much humidity into the house which can warp wood floors as well as create an environment for mold.

[@markhathaway9456]

Love the practical video and the finish was really cool. 🙂

[@TwoBitDaVinci]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@jamesevans225]

GREAT VIDEO! I'm going to show this video to my wife with time stamps because looking high quality and professional (vs functional) is important to her. We ALL need to stop paying full price for energy. YES I'm old enough to remember the gas lines OPEC caused in the 70s

[@moletrap2640]

Great video. Very helpful.

[@kokopelli314]

Awnings work great for large windows. Soffit vents + Ridge vents will cool your attic via convective drafts. Rooftop solar will also keep your attic cool.

[@YodaWhat]

@Two Bit da Vinci - *2-stage evaporative coolers exist which put only a little humidity indoors,* because they pre-cool the water with a 1st evaporation loop strictly on the outside. The cool water is then pumped inside where it goes over another set of fiber pads, with air flow produced by a 2nd fan. The cool water has low vapor pressure, so only a little of it evaporates indoors. This allows the evaporative cooling unit to be effective whenever the outside *relative humidity* is below about 90%. In the hottest part of the day, relative humidity drops, so you get the cooling effect just when you need it most. If a humid climate, they can stop working at night, but then with less of a heat load to handle, a small air conditioner can provide cooling and dehumidification. *As for going extra cool at night, another good trick is to use water-filled bottles for thermal storage.* Used bottles from most kinds of water-based fluids can be re-used for this. It is best to put them on wire shelves so air can move around the bottles. If desired to hide the bottle shelves from view, you can put a piece of fabric over all but the bottom few inches of the shelves, leaving the top open. This gives a path for passive convective airflow. The shelf full of bottles also gives you emergency water, and might even help extinguish a fire if you have one. I just avoid using polyethylene bottles with city water, because the chlorine/chloramine can make that type of plastic brittle, causing a handful of those bottles to eventually develop leaks. *This simple thermal storage hack works whether or not you are using off-peak power, and reduces the cooling load during hottest hours when air conditioner efficiency falls off.*

[@kousakasan7882]

I have lived in Southern California most of life. The worst days are the hot humid days. Evaporative coolers are completely useless on those days, even making things worse. Also, there are window films that go on the outside that block most of the heat and don't heat up the window pane. Your windows have a film between the panes that allow uv to pass through and reflect heat back into the house. When I first put film on the inside, my window panes became large heating panels. I also put queen palms along the south side of my house to shade my house. Also, my whole house fan is running right now before the sun comes up cooling my home to the outsides 65F. By 4pm it will be 80F in here instead of 90F if I didn't use it.

[@russadams3008]

Two other things you should consider. Ridge vents and awnings. The ridge vents will passively remove heat from the attic while the awnings will keep the windows cooler.

[@GamingHistorySource]

There is a how to video tutorial on drawing hot air out of your attic for your cloths dryer as well. Can't remember the name but seems like a good idea.

[@carldawson5069]

Reflective film does reduce energy entering the house. However, when it is a dual pain window, the reflective film almost double the glass temperature of the outside pane. The increased thermal stress has broken panes. If the outer pane inside surface can be coated with film, the heat stress can be reduced. I like trellis with vines in front thhe window shades the window. The vine also absorbs CO2. "Swamp coolers" work well except when the wet bulb gets too high (check the US Navy stress chart).

[@anydaynow01]

As a navy engine room veteran I can complete agree with you on this. By applying the film to the inside of the double pane window all that is created is a mini green house effect as opposed to shading the window in the first place with an awning, a retractable one is best since they can allow light in during colder months.

[@Robert-cu9bm]

If it doesn't reduce energy entering, how does it keep the inside cooler? Heat is just energy

[@teardowndan5364]

For places that have no issues with water supply, you could feed swam-cooled air in the AC's condenser to boost efficiency without dumping humidity indoors. Some commercial ACs do it, though this requires periodic cleaning, inspection and refills so the evaporator doesn't become a breeding ground for nasty stuff like legionnaire's disease.

[@tedwalker1370]

Remember when you bring air in with an evaporator cooler that air has to go some ware so open a window in the farthest part of the house. Just enough for the air to leave that is coming in from the cooler.

[@galax64]

Awesome pool, cool !

[@peterbogardus5209]

I recommend foil lined 1” foam above the window unit instead of untreated wood. Mine lasted for years without any issues, plus you can place a narrow piece of wood or broom handle in the window track so the window cannot be easily opened from the outside.

[@TheAnticorporatist]

Oh, great idea! Use an appliance timer for the window air conditioner!

[@deanwells2859]

I know your take on solar is right on. I know you are in the San Diego so the proposal that the PUC (Public Utilities Commission) had put out for comment, charging a $ 600 a year tax, may have gone away for the moment but you know as well as me that a “new” way to tax the people never goes away. I am an advocate for solar until the government finds a way to tax it. Keep up your good work!!

[@gonelooney5698]

Instead of what sounds like a quite expensive "House Fan", look into roof turbines that would likely work as well for less cost - they come as wind powered(not wired) or electric powered, and by now they very likely have electric ones that are solar powered etc. Just remember to cut a hole RIGHT THROUGH the roof when installing any type of roof vent - I worked in the renovation industry and most I saw were installed wrong with only the flashing removed which drastically reduces the efficiency of roof vents so people did not think they were very good/cost effective at helping reduce heat in the home. Just opening up an attic hatch to let hot air up into an attic can make a huge difference in inside temperature - running your furnace's fan will also draw cooler basement air up into the main area of the home, paired with ceiling fans drawing air upwards - NOT DOWNWARDS ON TO YOU - will further pull the cool air upwards and since heat rises and cold falls you get more of a cooling effect if the fans are in up-draft mode. Installing something like a solid baby gate at the top of the stairs will keep the cold air from upstairs A/C units Upstairs, even just a cardboard barrier to prevent the cold air from flowing down the stairs will make a big difference.

[@jeffbonvallet9480]

A powered attic vent also helps and is different from a whole house attic fan. My powered attic vent runs most of the day while I keep windows closed. At night I turn on my whole house attic fan.

[@dustblowingman]

you can also get an all in one solar powered roof fan that keeps the attic/roof space vented and cooler.

[@roberthorniacek4559]

Windex is best to clean & apply window film, also you should use an exterior window film so you don't super heat the exterior pain of glass as that is not a good idea with insulated windows, And for that fan unit they are great but pointless in a residential neighborhood do to the fact that you would need to canulate the cost of your water & sewer bill, you will save on electric but pay way more in your water bill every month, Now if you have a well & septic tank your good.

[@cryptickcryptick2241]

For most people water is way cheaper than power. Water for most people costs about a penny a gallon, electric for most people costs about 12 cents a Kilowatt hour. (of course these vary greatly based on where you are.) One gallon of water has the cooling equivalent of running a small window sized AC unit for an hour.

[@richardfinnigan7458]

Thanks for ceiling fans tip. I just cover the insides of windows with silver foil, it works.

[@wolfbear7]

I'm in Antelope Valley. My evap cooler makes my house 20-25 degrees cooler than outside and the added humidity is better than the 10% outside.

[@billbucktube]

We replaced our shingle roof with a metal roof. I went to the manufacturer of the metal sheets and asked which color is the least transmissive for heat and what extra did they do with their roof. Astoundingly, the least transmissive was a cream color. The extra thing they did was to put a radiant barrier under the metal. Astoundingly, they did not sell it! We installed it and immediately we observed that the top horizontal surfaces were cooler and the rooms more comfortable in general. Previously when you touched the top surface and the bottom surface, the top was obviously hotter. If you stapled the radiant barrier across the roof rafters it would do two things; reflect back the long infrared (like your window film) and heat the air above. The heated air would rise between the roof rafters, pulling in cooler air from the eave vents. To head off the, "That can't work it's not insulation!" crowd, you're correct, not insulation, radiant barrier... If you have a ridge vent you would have a structured air flow venting the attic.

[@LtColDaddy71]

My old 1860 Victorian has some genius design features that work. But modern insulation has made it even better. I put in another set of studs right next to the original, but turned sideways. It technically creates a cross grain engineered beam and an 8” outer wall that I filled with rock wool insulation. Very anti synthetics around here. The landscape makes a huge difference also. I’m completely canopied by big trees during the warm season, yet in the winter, it blasts direct sunshine in to the house.

[@katherandefy]

Yes we had a ceiling fan in my childhood. We had it on all evening and all night then turned it off during the day while everyone was at work and school. That meant we only used AC in Aug and Sep when the dog days of summer came around

[@ljprep6250]

Installing window film is the nastiest thing I've ever tried to do. Hire it out! // Swamp coolers worked quite well for me in Phoenix when I schooled there. // When I lived down near you (Vista) I had a 30" whole house fan which took my house from 97F down to 70F in about 45 minutes. What a relief when I got home from work! Back then, it cost $88 at HD. Now they cost many hundreds! The added benefit of solar is that you are energy independent. When everyone else is grid-down, you're running your A/C in leisure. Just Do It! // Oh, my new house in the PNW only cost $2400 to buy all LowE dual pane windows and sliders, including installation in 2002. The very first window installed warmed my bedroom over ten degrees, even with the door open. Amazing. Dual pane windows also peel away all the dog barking and screaming pool kid noise from the inside of the house. They're well worth it.

[@shantaloft]

Window film works great for heat. If you have plants you will have to light them. So annual bill may be higher as it will remove all light for plants in the winter.

[@iancormie9916]

20 or 30 years ago, there was an AC company using a water bath to cool the condenser (outdoor) unit this increasing the AC's efficiency and avoiding the humidity load inside the house. (60 to 80% of total AC load)

[@hectorcastanon9946]

Excellence with that plywood honestly

[@lnwolf41]

Yeah, the Evap cooler is best where there is 10% or less humidity. Way back inthe 60's and 70's as a kid, my ather had a large window unit in their bedroom, then we blocked off the top of the stairs, it kept the upstair quite cold for sleeping during the summer. For Central air units, you can get a misting device that comes on when the compressor starts, this helps cool the coils outside reducing the heat load, and time the compressor runs. I do know the window units back then had a tray that collected the condensation, and then a fan on the outside splashed through the water causing it to hit the cooling coils.

[@paulstubbs7678]

I saw a whole house fan on TV once, no idea where to get one, so I made one from a blower from an old ducted heating system. We had quite a few times where it got quite cool outside, but with no wind, opening windows did nothing. With the fan we can choose where the cool air goes by choosing which windows to open. Yes you can open them all, but then the fan's airflow is split between them all meaning slow air, however if you just open say the bedroom window, then it gets heaps of cool air. I also made a small window fan, by cutting a piece of ply wood that nicely fitted into a sliding window, then fitted three large computer fans into it. If you are a renter, then this could be an easy DIY fix.

[@justintyme2451]

Aluminum foil does the same thing if you don't mind the appearance. A damp wash cloth under your hat works fine. A damp towel over your shoulders works better. Cost? A few bucks plus a couple fans.

[@tandratorres5744]

We used some plexi glass and silicone caulking. It looks awesome.

[@jean-clauded5823]

A mini split, instead of a window unit, would be far more efficient.

[@nickjones3605]

In Albuquerque, running a swamp cooler will get your in house temperature into the 50's REAL quick! + I'm a Meteorologist and I personally did the Obs (Observations) at the ABQ Office for a while. It was amazing to do the readings of relative humidity in that City. Here is more: Wow... the wet bulb was required just to Measure the relative Humidity in ABQ! This means that you have to take a small hand held "sling psychrometer" which you WET one (with a small bag, over it) of the themomters. Then you use the handle to spin around the 2 the themomters for a bit; and check the temperature of depression. This gives a cooler temperature for the wet-bulb & you can use this calculate the humidity. Albuquerque is a rare place for weather. Not only is it at a high elevation a mile high; but prevaling winds don't provide much moisture to the air. When I said calculate the humidity this can be done easily in most places. But in ABQ we used a book and measured RH well down into the single digits. So, living there is wonderful for your cooling - it is virtually free.

[@chrisumali9841]

Thanks for the demo, tips, and info, awesome. Just wondering, what i the breakdown of the ecoflow setup that you have? Have a great day