Learn about low-cost tricks for staying cool without cranking the air conditioner, from rice congee to foot baths.
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00:00Let's explore some old-school ways to stay cool without cranking up the aircon.
00:05These are all kinds of know-hows that were ready to hand 50 or 60 years ago,
00:11but in a sense, air conditioning has sort of obliterated our memory of those cultural practices.
00:16If you can, install shades outside your windows,
00:20or move potted plants in front to create a green screen.
00:25In the evenings, open up your windows for cross ventilation.
00:30In one of the communities we've been looking at in Riverwood,
00:32there's a large elderly Chinese population,
00:36and one of the things that they talked about was using cooling food.
00:41They switched their diet during summer months,
00:43eating things like rice, congee, and mung beans, which bring down bodily temperature.
00:49Other low-cost tricks to stay cool include having a foot bath,
00:54placing a wet face cloth on your wrists or the back of your neck,
00:59misting your skin or clothes with water, and then positioning yourself near the fan.
01:05While a fan can be a cost-effective, environmentally-friendly option,
01:10they are more effective in dry conditions.
01:13Fans work just on the principle of circulation, right?
01:16So it's the movement of air that cools the body,
01:20and that works well if you're sweating in a hot, dry environment,
01:24because it enhances the power of that evaporative cooling.
01:28In humid heat, it's less effective.