Western Canada is in the midst of a heat wave. Right now, B.C. is setting record breaking temperatures, and that weather is expected to move east into Alberta over the next few days.
If you’ve been reading our blog, then you know I’ve recently moved into a condo. It has no air conditioning. Martin and I were gone for 5 days last week, and my 19 year old son was left in charge of my place. He was great at watering the plants and keeping them alive. However, he hasn’t got the life experience (and lives in a house with a/c) to know that opening windows is NOT a good idea during the heat of the day. We came home to a condo that was already at 78F and got to 82F before the temperatures started to drop in the evening.
I’ve always been a firm believer that, while a/c is nice to have, it’s not necessary. We live in a climate where we experience winter up to 8 months a year. A week or two of hot temperatures is not going to kill me, or make me want to pay to have a/c installed (I’m not “cheap”, I’m “economically efficient”).
I continue to stand by this belief. The temperatures we are experiencing are not normal. Sure, we’ll get around 30C for a couple of days each summer, but a week or more of 30C+ ?? That’s an anomaly. Because I live in a condo, the strata rules state that I can’t have a window air conditioner. I’d have to get a portable a/c unit, or central air. Portable means I need to store it when not in use (and storage is at a premium), and I’d rather buy stainless steel appliances for my kitchen than shell out the money for central air.
So, for the next week, I’m making do. Fortunately, it cools down to 16C or 18C at night – which is very comfortable. I can cool off my place with fans in the window overnight. Upon waking, I close all the windows, shut off the window fans, and pull down blinds. I ordered room darkening/thermal curtains for my main floor this morning. They are due to arrive tomorrow or the day after, and I’ll install them as soon as they get here.
I have fans running during the day. Believe it or not, putting a bottle of frozen water in front of a fan actually helps cool the place. The trick is to get the bottles of water to freeze faster than they thaw in this heat! I’ve also tried draping cloths that have been soaked in cold water and thrown in the freezer for a few minutes over the fans, and that’s working to help cool the place.
Yes, I’m sweating. It’s mildly uncomfortable. Yet, in the grand scheme of things, I remind myself that – six months from now – we could be at -33C and I’ll be longing for days like today.