When summer heat and humidity really hit, cold showers and box fans can only do so much. At some point, if you want to be comfortable, you actually need to actually cool the air in your home. Without central air conditioning, this can be a real struggle.

Central air is an incredible luxury with one major, potentially business-offending flaw: it uses an incredible amount of electricity, and the hotter it is outside, the more it needs. Almost every alternative to central air is cheaper and more environmentally friendly than the original. With the exception of whole house fans, which they sound like exactly, all of these solutions are designed to cool individual rooms as needed. This minimizes energy costs and offers a lot of flexibility so even tenants have some options to brave the heat this summer.

Ceiling fans

A good ceiling fan can make a huge difference in hot, sticky weather. It’s easy on the electricity bill and affordable enough that you may be able to convince your landlord to choose one. Just make sure yours is properly aligned: Counterclockwise is best for cooling.

Fan fan

One step up from a ceiling fan is a fan. These are typically used in bathrooms for humidity control, but can also be used Move the air from a cooler area of ​​your home to a hotter one. Fan fans range anywhere from $ 100 to $ 200 (without installation), which is less expensive than many other options. However, as FamilyHandyman.com points outA fan will only work if you have “plenty of cool air that is easily accessible to your hot space”.

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Single room air conditioners

We all know and love (or at least tolerate) the classic “Diaper Rattler” AC unit, but you need the right type of window to use one. These two other options work where window units don’t.

Portable AC devices

These air conditioners vent through a window and are usually mounted on casters so that they can be moved from room to room. They’re easy to install (and uninstall), however They’re pretty expensive upfront and tend to use more electricity than other units with similar cooling capacity. If you’re cooling a studio apartment and your lease prohibits even a semi-permanent AC installation, a portable device is a good choice.

In-wall AC devices

If you are able to cut holes in walls, In-wall AC devices offer at least two major advantages about their window-mounted and portable counterparts: They are more energy efficient and do not take up valuable window space. The installation process isn’t exactly DIY-friendly, however – you should involve a professional, which adds to the cost.

Channelless mini-split system AC devices (“mini-splits”)

Mini-splits are basically central air for people who cannot have central air. How they work: according to BobVila.com::

Mini-split systems usually consist of two separate units: an indoor evaporator (with fan and cooling coil) and an outdoor condenser. The two parts are connected by flexible hoses that carry the cooled refrigerant from the outdoor compressor to the indoor unit for distribution. Since no lines are required, a mini-split is particularly suitable for older houses and new room additions.

As with other single room AC devices, mini-splits allow you to cool specific rooms. The main difference is that you can run multiple units on one compressor that uses less power than the same number of individual units. A good mini split system doesn’t come cheap, but it’s an excellent (and surprisingly energy efficient) way to keep the hottest rooms in your home cool for years.

Whole house fans

If you own an attic home, you may be able to cool it down with a whole house or attic fan – with a heavy emphasis on May. A detailed guide for whole house fans from BobVila.com explains that this old-school cooling technique can cool large homes at a fraction of the cost of central air, but only under very specific circumstances.

Whole house fans work by forcing hot air up and out of your house (usually through the attic) while breathing cool air through open windows below. At night, open the windows and turn on the fan. In the morning you close everything. Unfortunately, this simple and effective system has a fatal flaw that is the BobVila.com guide formulates clearly:

Because whole house fans draw fresh outside air into the house but don’t dehumidify it, they work best in climates where the humidity outside is already relatively low. … A whole house fan is not advisable in Pensacola, Florida, which has an average humidity of 72.5 percent, but you could go to places like Phoenix (which has an average humidity of 36.6 percent) or Las Do something good in Vegas (30.3 percent).

In other words, if you live in an attic home in a dry climate with low nighttime temperatures in summer and mild winters – because leaky fans can cause heat loss – a whole home fan might be for you. But if moisture is an issue, don’t waste your time just on fans.

This is a good reminder to take into account your specific needs. Depending on your climate, housing materials, and ability to make changes, some of these solutions make more sense than others. Think about what you want, what you need, and what you can actually do, and then take it from there.

This article was originally published on July 10, 2013. It was updated on May 24th, 2021 with new links, a new photo, a new section on ceiling fans, and updated information. It has also been edited to reflect Lifehacker’s current style guidelines.

Photo: Vladimir Sukhachev (Shutterstock)

As well as Speed ​​isn’t the only way to make progress in runningAdding weight to the bar isn’t the only way to make progress with your lifting. There are many ways to measure the process of strengthening and fitness. So let’s discuss some ways in which you can set standards for yourself along the way.

Lift more weight in relation to your height

If you’re a small person or you’ve lost weight while exercising, looking at the weights on the bar may not be the best way to tell if you’re getting stronger. Shorter people usually move smaller weights, which is why every weight training exercise has weight classes.

Let’s say a 100 pound person and a 200 pound person are exercising together. If the smaller person can squat 150 pounds and the 200 pound person can squat 200, then who is stronger? The taller person is stronger in an absolute sense, having moved 200 pounds instead of 150 pounds, and the shorter person is stronger in a relative sense, having 1.5 times their body weight and the taller person 1.0 times theirs Body weight crouched.

So if you’re smaller, don’t be discouraged if your taller gym buddies are lifting more weight than you are. Regardless of your size, when lifting the hoist there are some standards you should use for relative strength. You will likely be able to lift your body weight before you can squat your body weight, and after that you can try to bench your body weight. In the meantime, your deadlift will crawl to 1.5 times body weight, then 2.0 times body weight, and so on.

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Not only are these milestones fun to celebrate, but they are also helpful for tracking progress as you lose weight. If you could squat 200 pounds when you weigh 200 pounds, but you can only squat 225 after a long time in the gym, you might be disappointed; However, if you’ve lost weight and now weigh 175, it means you’ve switched from a squat 1.0 times body weight to a squat 1.29 times body weight, which is a huge step up.

Lift the same weight several times

You can progress by adding more weight to the bar. However, you can lift more by lifting the same amount of weight several times.

Strongman event participants often use the same weights, and the award goes to whoever lifts the same weight most often (often with a time limit of about a minute). If I can lift a car three times and you can lift it ten times, you are the stronger person. Or check it out the bench press test in the NFL combine: Players are asked to bench 225 pounds as often as possible. Higher scores go to those who can do more repetitions.

So when you work out and feel in the gym ready for a PR to try (personal record), you can try a max rep PR instead of one for max weight. Can you squat a certain weight for 20 reps? Can you do 100 pushups without stopping?

As a bonus, clenching your teeth for longer and longer sentences is a form of mental toughness training. You may want to stop, but is your body really giving in? Learning to overcome pain or boredom can also be a mental gain in training.

Do the same job in less time

Just as runners get the same amount of mileage in less time as they get fitter, as runners get stronger and build up, you can lift more weight in less time.

When you usually sit around and Scroll through Instagram between squat sets for ten minutesTry to set a timer and not rest for more than five minutes. If this gets easy, set the timer for three or four minutes instead.

You can continue this way without changing the weight, as in the Deep water lifting programwho prescribes less rest time as the weeks go by, or who Crossfit benchmark workoutswho assume that as you get fitter, you can do the same amount of work in less total time.

Or, you can just watch your rest times while exercising and gaining weight, knowing that you are improving your work ability while increasing your strength.

Learn new exercises

If you just do the same three or five exercises over and over again, becoming a well-rounded athlete is difficult. But when you add something new to your routine, you become a person who can lift anything or do fun party tricks without trying them first. For example, if you normally hold onto barbells, try some sandbag carriers or tire flips.

Even if your gym doesn’t offer many options outside of the usual equipment, you can find new variations on old favorites. Why not spend a training cycle? front squats instead of squats, or getting and doing something weird Zercher squats instead?

Each new exercise you learn gives you the opportunity to set new PRs (with weight, reps, or any other metric you choose) and expose you to a new training stimulus. All of these variations will help build a broad base of strength in the long run and maybe even make you stronger when you return to your usual exercises.

Photo: Natalia Deriabina (Shutterstock)

Imagine sitting on a bar stool and kindergarten and younger kids running across the floor, screaming for their parents, and generally liable for any drunk adult unfortunate enough to bump into one of these tiny people. Suffice it to say, I have an ax against parents who take their young children to bars.

This is one facet of pre-COVID life that I don’t want to see again. The pandemic is on the decline here in the US which is fantastic news for parents, kids, and 31 year old hipsters like me. Since we are more often at water points where the legal entry restriction is 21 years and no other food than French fries can be found, I ask young parents to leave their children elsewhere.

Your kid is not cute in a bar

Don’t get me wrong, I love children – absolutely adore them – and I look forward to being a father one day. Your cherub-faced kid is likely adorable – just in a setting other than a bar. If you step into an adult-only establishment to relax and unwind from the bullshit of adult life, your child becomes a threat .

In the rare case a kid is well behaved in a bar, most people don’t mind, but such well behaved guys are rare. In my experience, at least, parents usually let their kids loose on a bar room floor as if you were a dog in a sprawling meadow. The fact that the adults are in a social setting means that the need for parenting takes a back seat, whatever is on the menu.

Or think of it this way: when your child sprints behind my bar stool and screams and laughs like they’re in Disneyland, they’re no longer cute. They are a nuisance and frolic in the kind of abandonment you would expect from a child in a safe environment. The thing is, however, that they are not in a safe environment.

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Is it legal to have kids in bars?

One of the most annoying aspects of this situation is how legal it is for your child to be in a bar. The thing is, it’s technically legal to bring Your baby in a bar in some states (others require the facility to serve food to those under the age of 21). I will continue to rail against the legality of this burden for the rest of my life, but unfortunately the law is on your side, yuppie parents.

Children create a strange atmosphere for everyone at the bar

My behavior towards children is different from my antics in a bar, which is true for most people. I try not to curse in the company of young children (contrary to what you may think after reading this far, I’m not a monster). Having a group of young children in a bar, especially when the kids run around relatively unaccompanied while their parents relax, creates a confusing atmosphere for people like me.

What is the etiquette of cursing or yelling at a basketball game while sitting next to a four year old? I don’t think we need to revive Emily Post to find out. If I leave your child at home with a babysitter or in-laws, I don’t have to think about how my behavior might be internalized by a two-year-old.

Additionally, with the pandemic ending, after over a year of isolation, adults without children are hornier than ever. If you take your child with you, they may be evidence of adult behavior. Is that a scar that you are ready to let rest on your consciousness?

How to tell if a bar welcomes children

Here’s a good rule of thumb: does the place you visit with your kids have a kids menu? Are there any other groceries besides nuts, pretzels or French fries? To avoid the frustration of the dissatisfied like me, find a few places with a festive, bar-like atmosphere that also have a kids’ menu. In most states, you can even sit at the bar with your child, especially when ordering food.

I understand that you chose to stay in town so that you can keep some semblance of the social life that you lost when you decided to become a parent. But please don’t ruin other people’s bar experiences.