There's a component that needs cooling that we rarely talk about - us.

I have a fan that's helping keep me cool this summer, but it's louder than I'd prefer. Does anyone have a recommendation for a quiet box fan or similar device? Window fans, fans that sit on the floor, whatever - I need something, but I'd like it to be quiet.

You could go passive? Lap yourself, by removing your clothes. Get a metal chair seat/structure to remove the heat from you.

Go water cooled? Get a large pool flotation 'air vest' style thing, and fill it with refigerated water.

Sorry - my sense of humour is amazingly 'dad joke' like for a 21 year old.

Seriously - I would love an answer to this question too.

- Wearing a woolen jumper in summer helps to keep me cool. I'm serious too. Wool is a cooling and insulating material. And it won't absorb sweat and become "heavy" like an acrylic or polyster jumper would.

- Wear lighter coloured clothes like white, beige, khaki (yes, all grandpa's favourites) as opposed to wintery black, charcoal and grey.

- Sweating, while disgusting and socially uncouth, is the body's natural "airconditioner". Covering up and wearing more as opposed to less will help to reduce body temperature through two ways: sweat and insulation. But don't overdo it. No need to dress like traditional Inuit. If you can't handle extra clothing in summer, don't do it as you may hyperventilate, faint or become ill.

- Keep a wet towel around your neck and forehead to keep a cool head (pun intended) and to also avoid headaches/migraines from excessive heat. It also absorbs sweat. Remember to change out the towels regularly or those who share the space around you will likely not be sharing the space around you too much longer.

- Cover all your windows with heat reflective material like the ones in car windscreen shades. I even use the windscreen shades themselves. If not, heavy curtains thick enough to block out the sun during the day to keep the inside temperature cooler. If you have blinds, don't open them in the morning as you normally would.

- Drink plenty of natural water. But not too much! Too much and you will drown youself! Sports drinks like ones ending in ade with replenishing substances like potassium are also good -- but not too much. Avoid the ones high in sugar and artificial additives. If you are sweating a lot, add a bit of salt to a glass of water and drink it slowly, taking short sips at a time rather than "downing it".

- On warmer afternoons and evenings, go to a park where there are lots of trees and a body of water of some kind (stream, pond, river). Sit in the shade under the trees, preferably old, big trees. This is nature's "airconditioner". The sound of the quiet breeze, birds singing and people at ease and enjoying the nature around them will rub off on you as well. This kind of "closed in" environment makes a massive difference to your actual and perceived sense of temperature. A good excuse to have a picnic and/or barbecue too. "Save me a seat please! Oh, and I'll have two hotdogs Ma'am. BBQ sauce, no ketchup, no mayo, no mustard, and go easy on the onions! And a homemade lemonade too, thank you!"

- If you really need to use an electrical method of cooling, then don't hesitate to use it. Unless of course, you didn't pay the power bill and got it cut off. Woops. Airconditioners, while loud and electricity hogs, allow you to work and sleep comfortably in high, humid or extreme heat conditions.

- Most portable fans be they pedestal or box are loud. I find the number 1 setting enough to cool me and the room, which is good because this is the quietest setting. Jumping from 1 to 2 to 3 increases power consumption dramatically while also souding like a turbine! Measure the Wattage for youself next time. The same goes for heaters. Unless you are freezing (or need to dry that shirt for work tomorrow that didn't do so in the rain), you don't need to put it on High.

- If you are still after a fan solution for the home, consider a ceiling fan. They can be quiet indeed and are relatively affordable. Look out for them at your local electrical goods stores and/or fan and lighting specialists.


P.S. I didn't intend this to be as long a post as it is. This should have been more an Off Topic discussion as it has panned out. Nevermind. I do share the OP's concern over the fact that quiet non-computer related cooling appliances are hard to find.

In fact, I open the windows and blinds at night and then close them first thing in the morning. That helps keep things cool, but it only does so much, especially with heat-producing computers inside.

Sadly, my ceilings are too low at 8' for a ceiling fan, plus I'm in an apartment and I doubt my landlord would appreciate it. The ceiling height makes that an absolute no-go though - it'd probably hit me in the head.

Looking around, I found a similar question on another forum, and a recommendation for the Honeywell brand. http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=51554 I might try it out. Anyone here use them?

Another recommendation for a Lasko tower air ionizer: http://www.epinions.com/review/Lasko_48 ... 8789699204

There are a few fans specifically advertised as quiet. I may try picking one up from somewhere I can return it easily to try it out; I'll report back if/when I do.

A sad part of modern life is that we can't leave our doors or windows open neither at night or day anymore. While I don't live in an inner city ghetto, our suburbs are not safe anymore. And while I believe my Lord protects me, I do my own part to keep myself and those I love safe. For Fools rush in where Angels fear to tread.


If you want to keep a head on your shoulders, a ceiling fan for you isn't a good idea. The ceiling in our house is too low as well. Probably the same as yours, 8ft.


I have long been considering an Ionizer. I tend to suffer from dust allergies and there is a lot of dust and dirty air particles around here.

Let us know how you go. A good quiet small room fan that also works properly and keeps you cool is like finding gold.

Try also looking in sellers guides, flea markets, garage sales, old goods stores and that sort of thing. Someone might have something you're after for a bargain price.

Actually, Blocking the sun on the inside of the window has almost no effect, as any architect will tell you. You need to block it on the outside.

The rest is sound advice, though

And removal of clothes and a metal/mesh chair does help quite a bit. Of course I would never do such a thing - except under the rare circumstance that I, as a German, find myself coming home in Irvine, CA to a room of 90+ F. 4 Days in a row. Freaking west-facing window with inside (closed!) blinds...

I have found that closing my blinds helps keeps the room cooler. I'm not sure whether this is because the blinds are white, and thus reflective; or because it keeps the heat closer to the wall; or because it provides slightly more insulation (another airgap) against the heat outside. I suspect it's all three.

Like dyfrgi, I find it has some effect for me. I'm sure that blocking sunlight/heat from the outside will improve things, but if I left my reflective shades and curtains on the outside, some cheapskate might steal them.


Glad you think so. Which one(s) are you going to employ or have employed? Don't let me down now. My How to Keep Cool in Summer & 50,000 Other Helpful Hints of Questionable Worth Hard Cover Edition depends soley on your approval and recommendations K.Murx, good sir!


90 degrees F? You guys are spoilt. That's a cool Summer's day. Relatively speaking. Now that you mention it, I'm not looking forward to Summer here in a few months time. We've just had some of the worst Winter storm weather in our State recently (usually known for its sunny warm climate). Today is cool-warm and sunny, almost Spring season climate. It is only a few weeks away after all. 20 C maximum forecast.


I'm sure the reflectiveness of the white blinds and them acting as insulating material is helping out. Remember, even half a degree cooler is perceived by us as much cooler.

Many peoples in the New Countries live and work in buildings with very "heavy" colours like in fashion grey and charcoal. While all the modern devices like airconditioning and fans are cooling the interior spaces by air, the exteriors are doing a fine job of absorbing heat in. Add to that the many appliances and furnitures that are black nowadays. (That black sports/luxury car/SUV isn't looking so "cool" now, is it?) Peoples in Mediterranean and Southern European countries where the climate tends to be warmer than the rest of Continental Europe often can be found dwelling in houses and buildings with "lighter" colours, to the effect of what you are experiencing, however much more significantly. Instead of one or a few people in a street in a town with boring white, it is nearly everyone in that community, acting together as one big heat reflector and insulator.

Maybe it's time to get your neighbours in on the game. "Hey people, ditch those black curtains with grey polka dots, now! I'm trying to keep myself and the rest of you cool all on my own. Share the workload, I'm fryin' over here! Get yourselves some white or beige curtains, blinds, paint, clothes and shoes. Go on. No waiting around! It's a community thing, after all."

Just use a spare 12cm fan as a desk fan. A good choice is the tri-cool which every owner of the P18x would have some lying around. The built in speed changer makes it a great desk fan with only the power supply to worry about. I used a PSU module from an old fax machine.

I have run a 12cm fan on the desk using a 9v battery, worked relatively well, and was relatively quiet - but definently louder than the PC because closer.

I'm pretty sure he wants to cool down his whole room, not just his immediate work area and his face. As in for sleeping during 30 C nights so he doesn't sweat to death etc. For that purpose, a 12cm case fan isn't going to cut it. Unless he patches 5000 of them together and puts it on his wall. Hey, there's an idea. Collect all the rejected Tri-cools from SPCRians who don't use them: free SuperFan. Might be a bit loud though.

Yeah, I'm thinking closer to 48cm than 12cm - 16x the area. So while I suppose I could get 16 12cm fans and wire them all together, it's unlikely to be all that quiet.

Well:
Woolen Jumper - nope, allergic to wool.
Light coloured clothing - yes, if I am going out into the sun.
Wet towel - thankfully, not yet necessary
Cover Windows from the outside - unwilling to do that, as the landlord won't pay for materials.
Drink plenty of water - sure. Albeit I eat some salty snacks, instead of putting salt into the water. I need to gain some weight...
Go to the park in the afternoon - working at that time...
Do not hesitate to use the airconditioner - I do hesitate, because I hate wasting electricity. The air conditioner is the last resort...
Ceiling fan - yep.

Wait, you were not actually interested? But how am I going to earn my share of the sales of your new book? Ah, yes...:

Actually, the reason why "traditonal" building erected far before air conditioning was invented are significantly cooler is less about the colours (though they help a bit) than the size of the windows and some decent walls. Albeit painting things white is easier than insulating your house

Btw, where the heck do you live so you can't even hang some roller shutters (never mind the prices there - those are ridiculous) outside your window because they get stolen?? Port-au-Princei? Kinshasa? Lagos? I mean, it is not like you can simply walk by and put them beneath your coat...

What? Topic moved? We were in such good form and right on topic. Unbelievable. I knew it would happen! Nevermind. The show must go on.


I really like wool. It's a resilient material and very comfortable if you're not allergic to it. I actually wouldn't advise people go out and start wearing wool jumpers and blazers during hot weather. But I do wear a lightish layer of wool even during warmer weather because I have a circulation condition which makes my hands and arms cold. It's too uncomfortable to wear when it does get very warm however.

Dressing yourself up like a raven isn't going to help keep oneself cool. You are therefore a wise and learned man, Mr. K.Murx.
I'm with you on that. You need to balance up liquid refreshment with solid foods to keep your energy levels up. I could do with a few more pounds myself. BTW, did you save me some potato crisps?
In my last job, I hardly ever got to see the sunshine as I was indoors all the time. I took advantages of the weekends to visit the parks and get the necessary fresh air.
I hate wasting energy too, especially since the cost of it has gone up around 30% recently -- and rising in coming years. But when it goes above 35 C in a brick oven otherwise known as a post-WWII pre-21ST Century suburban Australian house, you need it if you want to function. Several people die of heat related causes in summer in this country each year. Usually elderly who cannot afford to run airconditioners and who have poorly ventilated houses.
Not possible in this house due to the low ceiling height.

Ah, but I am interested. I am interested in your indepth knowledge of the situation at hand. BTW, this must be kept Top Secretish. The book depends on it. You see, I have worked out, based on you getting a cut of 1¢ per sale of the book, which will retail for $299.99, that by its 50TH Edition with total sales counted, by my expert calculations, you would have amassed a staggering fortune of $0.000000000


You have once again shown your indepth knowledge of the situation at hand. My understanding of European townships is all the more richer because of your explanation. For that, you will get an extra 2¢ on top of the 1¢ cut you already have on the sale of the book. Taking you to a grand total of 3¢ for each and every one of my stupendously brilliant soon to be all time classics books sold. You must be lost for words at this moment.
Don't worry, let me do the talking. This calls for a celebration. Call the friends and family over. Call the neighbours over. Call the whole city over. Hey, why not just call the whole of Europe over? It will be a marvellous occasion.


I live in what is considered a mixed working class suburb. Traditionally populated by low to lower middle income families who work in manual labour, warehouses and nearby retail centres. There are people of all ages and ethnic groups here and in the surrounding suburbs. It is a typically contemporary working class Australian suburb in that it is a melting pot of people from different cultural backgrounds who for some reason or another ended up living here. In recent years, many troublesome renters and the hooligans they brought along with them have made the place unsafer. Don't get me wrong, it's not a dangerous place to live. It's moderately relaxed and relatively safe most of the time, depending on how you determine those characteristics. I don't want you to get a picture in your head that I reside in a warzone or ghetto township. But you know, the worst crime isn't the blatant type; it's the discrete crime that is the worst. Since a lot of eldery and retired folks live here, the hooliganism, vandalism, burglaries and drag races/hoon behaviour makes life for these people who have lived here all their lives fairly uncomfortable at times.

So, with that background in mind, I hope you can understand why I can't afford roller shutters on my current income (they are expensive here too) and why I won't leave items of worth outside my house to tempt passersby. But I don't think they will be too tempted by a pair of cheap windscreen shades or an old curtain, so that is what I will try using next summer if there isn't a better option when that time comes around. Some day, if God grants me the time on earth, I will leave this district and move elsewhere. But owning a house at this stage for me is a long term goal. If I never do, I won't complain either, as life here is temporary anyway.

Yes, I am shocked and appaled by this entirely unwarranted move! We are forcefully relegated to the fringes of civilized society. Yet, let us not despair and resign to the seemingly inevitable fate in the face of oblivion!
And allow me to commend you on your uncanny ability of premonition. Quite remarkable!


I am afraid, I am unable to procure any potato crisps as of now, but I will add an extra bag of chips to my shopping list. Do you have any special favorites?


May I suggest using a bike for (parts of) your current, or future commute? In my case, I am fortunate enough that the bike route leads through not one but two parks! Although fresh air is hard to find around here, Los Angeles sees to that.


Ah, so you do hesitate also! How delightful, we are thinking alike! And please, let me offer my condolences for the loss of life your country has to deal with.


But think of the [strike]children[/strike] the taxes, and transfer fees on all those zeroes! Horrendous! Maybe you can find a trusty hawaladar living under the new ...enrichments.. to your neighbourhood? Once I am back to Germany, I will contact one of my own, and we can set up someting.


Yet I fear, my fellow citizens of Europe will drown once I call them to my side - there is an ocean between us right now. And I presume you would never feel an urge to get back on you benevolent english overlords, would you?


Well, your surroundings do not sound much different from those I grew up in. Yet, windows without roller shutters were rather scarce. I mean, it is ... hm, ~AU $120 quite literally screwed to the wall. I have also never heard of someone stealing roller shutters back home. That would be akin to dismounting the letterbox, or stealing the balcony railing!

It may be, though, that those are just cultural differences driven by certain... historical, forced migration patterns to Australia...

Yet, the ability to sleep during the day and to keep one's bedroom comparatively cool, is worth a couple of hours of work and a - in my not quite humble opinion - low risk to loose $150-200. Or not?

Talk about heavy-handed strong arm behaviour from these so called law makers and proponents of justice! They have pushed us to this outward fringe, to be seized on by anarchists, by those with political and social agendas, and worst of all, by those who would want nothing more than to destroy my book, from whose astounding sales you too will make a staggering fortune. Ah, but there is yet hope. For those who take the sword shall perish with the sword. Prepare ye for battle, and defend the land with courage, my brothers!


Being the health conscious person that I am, I try not to make potato chips a part of my diet. A special treat every now and then is fine. Whenever I do decide to kill off whatever good bacteria I have in my system, I buy Original or Lightly Salted. Having confessed to my plane Jane status, I will now tip the scale on my conservatism--just a little--and ask for a Turmeric, Cinnamon and Cumin flavoured chips. None has thus far crossed my path. I was hoping you, dear sir, with your many connections, would be able to source such fine a delicacy for my good self. I expect you to travel the world over. No journey less will be sufficient.


I will consider your suggestion. It would help if I did own a bike. Alas, it is not to be. Where I live and work, the parks are quite mundane and usually only good for the occasional walk, jog or kick of the round football. The better parks are usually found closer to the city centre and alongside the main river which divides the metropolitan city in two. I am in the midst of a significant career and life change, and things are a little uncertain right now. But I hope that over the course of time, my situation will improve.


The common citizen is subsidising and paying the costs for successive governments and energy providers' mishandling of resources. Add to that the costs associated with "moving towards a greener future" will be passed onto consumers. There is nothing we can do about it, except to cut back on usage and use more efficient devices. Ah, but unless. I have a plan. We can escape the money-hungry governors and slavetraders of the West, and go live on a mountain somewhere far away, or travel to a distant galaxy, or journey to a parallel universe; so far away from their evil clutches and billing statements that we can sit back, relax and enjoy the intergalactic (or interuniversal) sunshine. Methinks this plan is worthy of consideration.

Leaving my plans to escape to a parallel universe aside for a moment, I would like to take a serious pause and express:

My condolences also to those who lose their life in such unnecessary a way (heat exhaustion), and thank you for yours.


"The cost of doing business is elementary, my dear colleague. Elementary is the cost of doing business." Did not a famous man once say those famous words? Is he not speaking with you now?
You stumbled me with the term hawaladar. I had to look it up. You did that on purpose, didn't you? To waste precious time, to run down the clock, to spare me no seconds of sympathy? Oh, what grief I must bear for the sake of helping humanity!


An ocean is no distance too far when victory so elusive must be celebrated. However, if you do insist that the voyage is perilous, let you be the one welcomed instead. When to Germany you return, you shall be greeted as a national hero. A man to be remembered. One who stood when others did fall. May the whole of Europe welcome you when you return to your homeland. "Wave thus your handkerchiefs, O people!"


Our family are ourselves immigrants to Australia from a strange and distant land. So, on the surface of things, we would be an "underclass" of an "underclass". (No disrespect to any persons concerned.) But in the grand scheme, I do not look at things that way; however, I am conscious of the fact. A person must be judged by their character and the life that is expressed from within, rather than by the superficiality of race, colour, ethnicity, language, class or financial status.


I am glad you can relate to my situation. I do not know that much about contemporary Germany. I tune in sometimes to programs from Deutsche Welle, albeit the ones broadcasted in English. The language interests me because some of my favourite musical compositions are written in German by German composers.


Perhaps there has been a misunderstanding somewhere. I do not believe I was suggesting that the fixed, bolted down roller shutters would be stolen. That would be quite an effort on the part of the villain(s) in question. It was the reflective shades or curtains on my windows, or other items of worth (like a rake or shovel) I might leave outside my house that may be pilfered by passersby.


You touch on an interesting topic that would make for an also interesting study. Not being a sociologist, I cannot say whether these cultural behaviours are unique to Australia. But as an observant person who has lived here for many years, I do have the opinion that there is within the inherent fabric of the country a sense of unruliness and uncultivated behaviour that manifests itself in some quite disturbing and shall we say, ugly ways at times. In this, Australia is not alone; yet some behaviours tolerated in this country would not be tolerated so lightly in other places in the world.


The roller shutter solution looks to be a good one. However, I do have some reservations. In the case of a fire or emergency, it make delay escape. I am sure there are workarounds though, and any household needs to devise a sensible evacuation plan and procedure. If I do own a house in the future, I will consider roller shutters on my windows as part of my cooling solutions. Oh, and I will add the learned advice to my soon to be all time classic book, which need I remind you, will be read and remembered by all generations and for all time. I will even credit the one and only K.Murx as "The man of roller shutting renown from the proud land of Germany, who will not give up on suggesting roller shutters to every person in the world, whether they can afford them or not, whether they need them or not, and whether they like it or not." It looks like I may have to give up my search for the Ultimate Potato Chips in exchange for a roller shutter. "Oh, but victory, sweet victory, comes at such a high cost." Did not a famous man once say those famous words also?


Mr K.Murx, I have thoroughly enjoyed our discussions thus far. Should the powers that devise to obliviate me from this sphere hinder my further expressions, may I take this grand opportunity in the presence of such a distinguished person as myself to wish you a safe and prosperous return to Germany, to your kin, to your friends, to your country and to the continent of which it is part.

If I could (pretend to) speak German, I would say something very shallow, stereotypical and possibly patronising right now in that language, but since I am a more insightful and intuitive person than those who would take the liberty to do so, I will refrain with a dignity of the highest order. Thus in a language with which I am more familiar, I will say,

Have yourself a good day! (in lieu of the above)

You might have to see some fans that are made specially for quieter motors. You just need to search on some larger stores to find one.

These are big, but very quiet, and they move a lot of air:

http://www.bigassfans.com/residential/index.html