For those of us in the north, Summer has arrived – and with it comes the annual dilemma; How do we stay cool without wasting energy?

Of course, the most enjoyable way to stay cool would be to spend every summer afternoon lazing about in a river fed by snow melt that just happens to flow through our back yard — and for those of you who have this luxury, please email me your address and ready your guest room — but for the rest of us, with day jobs and dry grass, the prospect of eco-friendly cooling is a conundrum.

We all know the basics:

• Keep your shades drawn when the sun is direct.
• Open every window in your house the second it’s cooler outside than in.
• If you can’t keep windows open at night for safety, wake up early and open up a few key windows before it starts heating up.
• Turn off unnecessary lights and unplug unnecessary electronic equipment (they produce heat!)
• Shut the doors on sun-facing rooms you’re not using to keep cool air in the areas you’re occupying.
• Fortheluvvagawd, don’t use the oven!

But here are a few additional ideas to cool both your sweaty little self and your home:

• Shade the outside as well as the inside! Indoor drapes/blinds are good, but outdoor blinds are better. This article gives some great examples for which types of blinds/shades are best to use in which situations.
• Creative landscaping can make a huge difference over time. It’s not an instant solution, but shade from mature foliage and trees can go a long way in blocking heat. Find the best ratio (for you) of enough light to keep you happy and enough shade to keep you cool.
• Install ceiling fans. They pack a lot of cooling bang for the energy buck. They can make you feel 3 to 8 degrees cooler (providing you have them blowing DOWN and not UP — very important!) and use 75 Watts per hour vs. the upwards of 900 for a small window A/C. (courtesy: Mr. Electricity)
• Cold Showers vs. Warm Showers: Quick cold showers can help you feel refreshed, but they do little to lower your core temperature. Some old wive’s tales suggest taking a warm shower so that the air inside the house feels cooler to you when you get out, helping to alleviate sweating. I don’t know about you, but I really can’t stomach the idea of a warm shower on a hot day. So instead I recommend opting for a quick cool shower for immediate gratification, and then Pulse Point therapy — which is simply to place ice packs between your wrists to cool the blood as it travels your body, thus lowering core temperature.
• Four words: Cabana Boy. Palm Fronds. ’nuff said.

If you must use an A/C unit, be sure the filter is clean. Also shade its intake, because the cooler the air coming in, the less it has to work to reach your ideal temperature. Strive for tolerable, not arctic, and don’t leave the A/C on when you’re not home. It’s actually not more energy efficient to run it at a low level constantly than it is to turn it up for larger bursts. Use a timer if you want to give your house a head start on the cooling before you get home from work.

Oh, and I was serious about emailing me if you have a snow-fed creek in your back yard. I make a mean veggie chili…