Ways of cooling down an apartment without AC.

[Shevek]

A lot depends on your humidity. The higher it is, the less you can be helped by evaporation of sweat or cooling water. Lots of good suggestions here. I'd recommend not just drapes, but reflective ones, at least on the side toward the window, preferably that mirrored bubble-wrap. That will keep the drapes from heating up and dumping it inside.
Always be aware that running a refrigerator puts more heat out through the condenser on the back than you can offset by taking out ice to cool a room. Try to only run it at night with the window open.

 

[Outdated]

how the electrical grid would go down (brownouts, blackouts) effectively stopping any and all electrical devices from functioning.

I haven't experienced that since the 80s. Solar power took off big time here at the end of the 80s so there's plenty of power in the grid during the day when everyone's running airconditioners.

Why solar power became so popular here - because of the scheme our government introduced back then, the solar panels on your roof are connected to the main grid, so during the day when they're generating power they wind your power meter backwards. Instead of getting a bill every 3 months people with solar were getting a cheque.

That scheme's sort of been watered down since then, the entire dynamics of power generation in Australia is changing at the moment. We've got the old fashioned power companies and the large mining corporations pushing propaganda against solar still, but we've gone way beyond tipping point now and those old fashioned power companies will either adapt and change or die out.

We're now phasing out coal and gas production. We're no longer very reliant on it ourselves but we have to keep exporting it to other countries that desperately rely on it or we'll upset world economies. Countries like Japan and Indonesia rely on Aussie coal and gas, they've been put on notice though, there'll be no more after 2040.

 

[Judge]

I haven't experienced that since the 80s.

This was 2008. But then you weren't a customer of Northern California's PG&E either.

They remain a disgrace...another one of those corporations "too big to fail".

 

[Mary Terry]

I haven't experienced that since the 80s. Solar power took off big time here at the end of the 80s so there's plenty of power in the grid during the day when everyone's running airconditioners.

Why solar power became so popular here - because of the scheme our government introduced back then, the solar panels on your roof are connected to the main grid, so during the day when they're generating power they wind your power meter backwards. Instead of getting a bill every 3 months people with solar were getting a cheque.

That scheme's sort of been watered down since then, the entire dynamics of power generation in Australia is changing at the moment. We've got the old fashioned power companies and the large corporations pushing propaganda against solar still, but we've gone way beyond tipping point now and those old fashioned power companies will either adapt and change or die out.

We're now phasing out coal and gas production. We're no longer very reliant on it ourselves but we have to keep exporting it to other countries that desperately rely on it or we'll upset world economies. Countries like Japan and Indonesia rely on Aussie coal and gas, they've been put on notice though, there'll be no more after 2040.

The electricity goes out so often in the rural area where I live (violent weather, trees fall on transmission lines, hurricanes and tornadoes topple utility poles, etc.) that we recently had a whole house propane generator installed. It cost a lot of money but it's worth it for the peace of mind that we no longer have to deal with getting out the portable generator, filling it with gas, extension cords running all over the house, inability to use our electric store and other very inconvenient tasks associated with a power outage. We're old and tired of setting up the portable generator in the middle of a hurricane or an ice and hailstorm, and invariably in the middle of the night.

I think US politicians have been lying to us about the utility of solar power for a long time. Too much fossil fuel lobbying in our government.

 

[Outdated]

The electricity goes out so often in the rural area where I live.....

We have that trouble up the top end, but the power usually only goes out for a second or two. It's the fruit bats, with a 5 foot wingspan they're big enough to land on a power line then try and swing across to the next line. That might not sound so bad, except that those constant micro power cuts wreck a lot of your electronics. The power going out is no drama but when it comes back on it comes back on with a surge.

I think US politicians have been lying to us about the utility of solar power for a long time. Too much fossil fuel lobbying in our government.

We still have a little of this trouble here but we managed to smash most of it a couple of decades ago. Our politicians and parties have to declare ALL donations and prove provenance, they're not allowed to accept anonymous donations. They also have to declare any investment portfolios they might have. That coupled with conflict of interest laws wiped out a lot of the corruption.

Roughly 35% of all homes here now generate more solar power than they use, and businesses are starting to cover their rooves in panels too. And a lot of farmers, especially in the drier regions, are also farming solar power. Now that our governments are installing massive battery banks as a part of the infrastructure our power supplies are becoming so much more stable and reliable.

And Lithium is proving itself to be far too unstable and dangerous, it's life as a viable alternative is going to be limited. That's another one the mining companies are lobbying and advertising about desperately, the newer Sodium Ion batteries are being developed to the stage where they're a much more viable option and we don't need mining companies to provide sodium - salt. That lobbying and advertising is pretty fierce in Australia, we produce about 70% of the world's lithium supplies.

 

[Judge]

And Lithium is proving itself to be far too unstable and dangerous, it's life as a viable alternative is going to be limited. That's another one the mining companies are lobbying and advertising about desperately, the newer Sodium Ion batteries are being developed to the stage where they're a much more viable option and we don't need mining companies to provide sodium - salt. That lobbying and advertising is pretty fierce in Australia, we produce about 70% of the world's lithium supplies.

Makes me nervous to see our nation putting in all its chips into Nevada's Lithium supply and mining.

They've done a good job in displacing the economic priority of gambling since the Great Recession, yet they appear to have replaced it with yet another kind of gambling.

Fact Sheet: Lithium Supply in the Energy Transition - Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA | CGEP

An increased supply of lithium will be needed to meet future expected demand growth for lithium-ion batteries for transportation and energy storage.

www.energypolicy.columbia.edu

I'm still concerned that a conflagration of the Tesla (Panasonic) battery factory could set fire to the desert traveling all the way back to Metropolitan Sparks and Reno if the wind is blowing east to west at the time. When sagebrush catches fire due to lightning or manmade foolishness, it can get really ugly on a windy day. Technology is still attempting to hone a method to effectively extinguish lithium fires, but I don't see any local firemen particularly impressed so far.

 

[Outdated]

I'm still concerned that a conflagration of the Tesla (Panasonic) battery factory could set fire to the desert traveling all the way back to Metropolitan Sparks and Reno if the wind is blowing east to west at the time. When sagebrush catches fire due to lightning or manmade foolishness, it can get really ugly on a windy day.

The fumes from a lithium fire are deadly too. We've been having a lot of lithium fires lately, mostly from people with scooters that leave them on charge overnight, and every time it means they have to evacuate a large area because of the smoke.

Our various governments have invested quite a lot in huge batteries over the last decade, and quite a few of them are from Tesla, but the very first time one of those goes up in flames will be the last time our governments ever install lithium batteries again. The development of sodium-ion has been happening in Australia as a collaboration between Australia and China, and the first of those batteries was installed recently. If it's performance proves viable then that's the way we'll end up going, sodium is so much cheaper to produce than lithium.

 

[Outdated]

I can't look at photos of kindergarten aged children pit mining with their bare hands, without welling up in tears.

Our pits are huge but I can promise you no children work in them. And we're the world's largest supplier of lithium. Be careful of the sources of information you choose to believe.

 

[Mary Terry]

We have that trouble up the top end, but the power usually only goes out for a second or two. It's the fruit bats, with a 5 foot wingspan they're big enough to land on a power line then try and swing across to the next line. That might not sound so bad, except that those constant micro power cuts wreck a lot of your electronics. The power going out is no drama but when it comes back on it comes back on with a surge.

Our power sometimes goes off for days at a time. The cities and towns get taken care of before they even assess our rural situation. We're pretty tough and used to making do with whatever we have but it's getting harder the older we get. Hence, the built-in generator.

We have good quality surge protectors on the expensive things like the refrigerator, my computer and the televisions to combat the damage to electronics.

I love to watch the show "Secrets of the Zoo Down Under" about the big zoo on Sidney Harbor. Those bats are awesome!

 

[Forest Cat]

we recently had a whole house propane generator installed. It cost a lot of money but it's worth it for the peace of mind that we no longer have to deal with getting out the portable generator, filling it with gas, extension cords running all over the house, inability to use our electric store and other very inconvenient tasks associated with a power outage.

That sounds brilliant, I want one of those.

 

[Outdated]

Those bats are awesome!

Living with them isn't always a great deal of fun. They live in huge colonies and if they decide to live near you for a while the noise and the stink is horrific. And never leave your washing out on the clothes line overnight, their poo is very acidic and will damage anything it lands on.

 

[Au Naturel]

I haven't experienced that since the 80s. Solar power took off big time here at the end of the 80s so there's plenty of power in the grid during the day when everyone's running airconditioners.

Why solar power became so popular here - because of the scheme our government introduced back then, the solar panels on your roof are connected to the main grid, so during the day when they're generating power they wind your power meter backwards. Instead of getting a bill every 3 months people with solar were getting a cheque.

That scheme's sort of been watered down since then, the entire dynamics of power generation in Australia is changing at the moment. We've got the old fashioned power companies and the large mining corporations pushing propaganda against solar still, but we've gone way beyond tipping point now and those old fashioned power companies will either adapt and change or die out.

We're now phasing out coal and gas production. We're no longer very reliant on it ourselves but we have to keep exporting it to other countries that desperately rely on it or we'll upset world economies. Countries like Japan and Indonesia rely on Aussie coal and gas, they've been put on notice though, there'll be no more after 2040.

California is fighting this as much as it can. The claim is that the grid can't handle it. The claim is that it disadvantages renters who don't have rooftops to put solar on. That may or may not be true, but the Public Utilities Commission is composed entirely of utility executives. The utilities don't want decentralized power production.

 

[Mr Alligator]

Re ice packs , be careful with those. Don’t want to get burnt. Wrap in a towel first!

 

[Outdated]

That may or may not be true, but the Public Utilities Commission is composed entirely of utility executives. The utilities don't want decentralized power production.

It's exactly that type of situation that triggered us introducing anti-corruption laws such as Conflict Of Interest. Up until the 80s our phone services were supplied by the government, telecom was a government department, then we privatised it. But most of it's executive board was made up of politician's husbands and wives and they had many connections throughout our bureaucracies as well.

That meant that the newly formed Telstra could charge what it liked, treat customers shamefully, and be held responsible for none of their poor decisions. Every time they made financially deplorable decisions they had enough clout with the government that they just expected the government would always bail them out.

We didn't find that situation very palatable.

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

It's exactly that type of situation that triggered us introducing anti-corruption laws such as Conflict Of Interest. Up until the 80s our phone services were supplied by the government, telecom was a government department, then we privatised it. But most of it's executive board was made up of politician's husbands and wives and they had many connections throughout our bureaucracies as well.

That meant that the newly formed Telstra could charge what it liked, treat customers shamefully, and be held responsible for none of their poor decisions. Every time they made financially deplorable decisions they had enough clout with the government that they just expected the government would always bail them out.

We didn't find that situation very palatable.

There are anti-trust and anti-corruption laws here, but they rarely seem to be enforced.

 

[Aspychata]

I may figure out solar panels for AC. The power went out for nine days due to a hurricane in Florida. I sat in an apartment just miserable. It's threads like these that make you realize you need a long-term plan for the continued disruptive behavior patterns that are being experienced everywhere. We have had hurricanes and one tornado in the last 2-3 years in an area in FL that doesn't normally get hit. I had a hurricane rip up my carport roof in Sept., in Dec- a tornado wind blew back down narrowly missing coming down on a car. The club office told me they were trying to contact me because my roof was going back and forth.

 

[Mary Terry]

I just read that the earth is getting slammed with solar flares from the sun right now so power outages, communications snafus and other problems may be widespread. The Northern Lights may be visible as far south as Alabama!

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

I just read that the earth is getting slammed with solar flares from the sun right now so power outages, communications snafus and other problems may be widespread. The Northern Lights may be visible as far south as Alabama!

Wow!

 

[Outdated]

I just read that the earth is getting slammed with solar flares from the sun right now so power outages, communications snafus and other problems may be widespread. The Northern Lights may be visible as far south as Alabama!

For us it's southern lights that will be able to be seen as far north as Sydney.

 

[Forest Cat]

For us it's southern lights that will be able to be seen as far north as Sydney.

Australia is confusing.