Courtesy of Phoenix AZ where 110+ for 30 days straight is a normal summer …
7 Likes
It could be worse; at least Thursday will cool slightly, and Friday will feel almost chilly. I checked my sister’s area (eastern North Carolina); 10 day forecast is 90+ each day, with about half over 95. (And she wonders why I don’t want to move back south!)
Thankfully, our 3 8000BTU and one 5000BTU window units are keeping the house livable, if a bit warm at times. And I DID put tin foil over the windows on the basement door, but I do that every year, since there is no cooling down there. And since we have a brick house, I go out every afternoon and “water the house”, hosing down all the brick walls on the south side. Makes a big difference.
On top of that, it’s only a single data point (actually two, me and Nisha), but it seems that heat makes long COVID worse. More than a few times one of us has started a sentence, and totally forgotten what we were saying before getting to the end.
5 Likes
Same, except I didn’t do it this year because I just washed every single window last week for the first time in years and they look too nice for water spots…
Eff it… I am going to do it tomorrow. Air temp at 1:30AM is 86 here at the moment. Just took a surface digital thermometer to the brick. Reading 104.5…
Can’t get the house cooler than 74, even with a 5 Ton Central + 10K BTU portable. It’s insane. That’s only 1,240 square feet of living space and can’t cool it down. We have been here since 2006 and never had this problem. Unit was recently serviced and running fine. Air coming out is where it should be (mid-40’s).
We like it at 71 24/7/365
2 Likes
I’ve always wondered if spraying water on the roof would cool down a house; seems like it would. I need to try this on my workshop.
4 Likes
4 Likes
It can make a marked difference, especially if the roofing is coated with a reflective product such as Kool Seal.
All of our climate-controlled commercial buildings in various states utilize this technique (albeit some locales have more-stringent water regulations than other) to one degree or another; it’s saved us thousands and thousands over the years; none of our homes have the same, but I have many friends and acquaintances who do.
3 Likes
Does that work with the humidity jacked up the way it is? I’m curious.
2 Likes
Yes … the vapor created is on the outside and the cooling effect on the exterior wall helps cool the inside.
Think of it like taking a hot pan off of the stove and running it under cold water to cool it.
5 Likes
The dew point being where it is is my confusion. I understand evaporative cooling (though I suppose the pan example isn’t evaporative so much as direct), I just don’t know if it works when the air is so full of humidity already.
2 Likes
The water is still going to be a lower temp then the air, so some contact cooling would occur also.
Energy transfer from the water to evap/steam would also pull heat out of said bricks
6 Likes
I just did a little test… Rinsed off a section of the house for a few mins. Waited a few more mins, did it again, and IT’S STILL HOT! WOW
Once the sun goes down, I’m going to waste a few hundred gallons of water and see how much it helps because… 
And this…
7 Likes
Well, it rained a little last night, so we’re a little cooler than yesterday. Plus, we added two powerful box fans to our supply last night, too (thanks, Target sale!). The hottest part of the 1st floor is now “maintaining” at 78°, which is a big improvement over 80s, and the hottest part of the 2nd floor is 72°. They put out grid notices yesterday, as expected. We are trying to conserve energy elsewhere to balance running all the fans, and again, the rain definitely helped.
But yes, we have also considered “watering” our brick house.
Outside thermometer temp is 96°.
Yesterday was 120+°. 
4 Likes
Oh lordt not Texas 
Comoaring today with yesterday and Monday:
ETA: @Tried_Tested whatever “Blue” company is advertising on the map, I always read it as bluer than it is and have to doublecheck. I blame your lemons! 
3 Likes
10K+ outages in Texas could be thunderstorm, wind and/or tornado outages … and not related to heat. To highlight the entire state of Texas for 10K+ (13,000 stated) is a little dramatic for that number.
3 Likes
Yeah, it will still work. Not as fast as if the dew point was lower, but still works.
And yes, can take multiple times to really cool them, but it’s noticeable in the house. Otherwise the heat just keeps working through the walls until late at night.
6 Likes
I wish you people on the East Coast would get your weather acts together. We flew back home yesterday and landed at JFK with a 4 hour layover. We were supposed to head home with the flight leaving at 6:20. Got the dreaded "there has been a delay’ text with a 40 minute delay. Not too bad and only getting in about 17 minutes later than expected.
The delay was expected since virtually every screen at the waiting areas had “delayed” or “Cancelled” on them. Lots of NOT happy flyers and people rushing off the ramps scrambling to find the gate for their connections.
Got on the plane a little later than that and then sat on the runway for TWO HOURS. The Delta flight crew was actually great. They brought around snack and water after about 45 minutes or so and then a SECOND round of snacks and water a bit before takeoff.
Got home a few hours later than expected and went to get something to eat. Got up to leave Denny’s (my wife will eat pancakes any time of the day or night) and it was pouring rain.
Got home about 12:45 which was almost exactly 25 hours after we got up in Prague.
I naturally did the logical thing and watched the recording of Jacob Misiorowski beat the Pirates…
7 Likes
My condolences.
It’s 67 here now, and the real feel is 67. 40+ degree real feel drop in 24 hours.
This is nice.
7 Likes
I will 100% accept a high in the LOW 90s when the “feels-like” is only mid 90s, after this week.
5 Likes