Staying cool in hot weather   

These tips can help you save on energy bills, improve your comfort in times of extreme heat, and even avoid heat stroke and heat exhaustion in extreme weather - which may become more frequent due to climate change.

[edit] Preparation

Planning well ahead gets the best results - prepare the home or office with passive solar design.

If the building is already built, apply passive solar renovations, which include some relatively easy changes:

• painting in a different color,
• Planting shade trees
• Applying heat-resistant film to windows,
• thermal curtains
• awnings

[edit] Personal protection

• Improve the efficiency of air conditioning by applying it to a smaller space. Curtains around a bed or across a large room can reduce the effective size.
• When other measures are not enough, applying cold water or ice to areas where blood vessels approach the surface:
  • wrists
  • side of front of neck, under the jaw, where the carotid artery may be visible.
  • tops of feet if circulation is good.

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