keeping house cool

With trillions of State taxes being globally extracted from the public to combat and mitigate global warning there's a faint hope a few hundred thousand will be spent to conduct relevant studies and educate the public on how to keep their houses cool, using common sense practices. Until then, actually until hell freezes over which will eliminate the problem, just experiment and share ideas with your sweating neighbors.

find those misting fans to be annoying

agree, especially if a bit of eye candy strolling around, as i need to break out the long distance eye glasses, which of course then get misted. unless positioned at the perfect location, they are a bit much or nothing extra at all. with so much dust/partical dirt in the air, i don't need it raining down on my food and drink, prefer it to just keep blowing by without settling down for me to consume.

Well, everybody is different. I also don't like the fan versions. Very annoying.

The mister type system that runs on the patio perimeter is what am interested in, and if it can keep the ambient air a 15-20f degrees cooler, it's worth it for my comfort, as well as for my friends. It's a billion dollar a year industry world wide, so obviously many people like it. They work very well, and you can keep a good distance to feel the cooling effects.

I guess, I'll go to the tent city and ask the locals. Worse case, I fabricate it myself with carburetor jets, and PVC tubing.

I don't think you would get that much of a temperature difference with it. It is the same principal of an evaporative cooler. They work great in a dry environment but, it is a bit humid here.

I would think the mister fan systems would be relatively costly to run and would really only be suited to patio areas, as opposed to a whole domestic house.

I have seen some places using like a trellis work projecting down from the soffits, and/or also fitted between the columns of patio areas, thus providing additional screening from the sun. I believe it is possible to get such things made up in wood, or aluminum or PVC. Though again these only provide sum screening for specific/limited areas.

In fact I noticed some similar trellis type screens (on a much larger scale), along with some huge external sun blinds, on the new Central shopping mall in Pattaya a couple of months back.

The tool shop across from the mini-post office on Srisuk Rd at one time had mister-fans on display on the sidewalk. I think they're like swamp-coolers.......they work great in desert-type conditions, but in jungle conditions with high humidity, they aren't effective. March and April, before the rains hit....that'd be the time to use them in Udon

There's an interesting piece in the New York Times today about the effectiveness of white roofs.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/30/scien ... es.html?hp
Among the comments:
"Studies show that white roofs reduce air-conditioning costs by 20 percent or more in hot, sunny weather."

Florida Solar Research Center also offers testimony to the effectiveness of white roofs.
Blue Coat Steel, among other companies, makes a quality rolled steel roof, available locally in a smörgåsbord of colors, including white. Most of the steel roofs now being installed in/around town have a 1/4" of reflective foam as backing.

Thais'll think you're crazy for putting up a white roof. Maybe bad fengshui, or maybe just not the color that's stylish enough.

Unfortunately in LOS with all the air polution a white roof will not stay that way for very long!!

Stantheman wrote:Unfortunately in LOS with all the air polution a white roof will not stay that way for very long!!

Maybe, but it will take time to discolour and will still be lighter so will still reduce cooling costs. Maybe just not so pretty to look at.

[/quote=]"Stantheman"]Unfortunately in LOS with all the air polution a white roof will not stay that way for very long!![/quote]

If you put on a white roof to help keep the house cool, like anything else, there is some maintainence to be done. If you have a solar panel, you would need to clean it periodicly for peak efficiancy.

Most of the steel roofs now being installed in/around town have a 1/4" of reflective foam as backing.

In looking around to see what is available for my house, I found this to be offered, here. I'm not using it because I don't care for metel roofs. But, it is offered.

[quote="Stantheman"]Unfortunately in LOS with all the air polution a white roof will not stay that way for very long!![/quote]


We've had our steel white roof for 3 years. It gets dusty in the Jan-Mar time frame when there's little rain, but the temps are cool then. The first rains do a good job in cleaning off the dust.

There are places where such a roof would probably be a bad idea: If you live alongside one of those laterite roads where there's quite a bit of traffic, among others.

insulate attic space is one exhaust fans in the attic is two yes i agree with a white or light colored roof
also high pitch roof something on the style of 8x12 pitch which gives you enough room to stand up in the middle

Referencing Parrot's earlier comment about white roofs, I lived in Miami for 15 years. About 50% of the roofs were white and 50% the red clay Spanish tile (similar to the tiles here in Udon). Everyone who had the white roofs that I knew had lower electric bills for similar sized houses. You have to pressure spray wash them about once every two or three years and paint them with fungus/bacteria resistant paint about once every ten years. Houses were very beautiful with white roofs in art deco style.

Everyone also ran their house central air conditioning system 24/7. A few days in December or January you could turn off the A/C. To minimize electric bills, all walls were insulated with good fiberglas insulation between the outside concrete walls and the inside gypsum walls (sheetrock). Also used about 12 inches of insulation directly above the ceiling. The purpose is to keep any heat in the attic from entering the air conditioned room. Remember heat transfers from hot to cold areas, not vice versa.

I never heard of or ever saw anyone installing insulation directly below the roof. I think it is a completely stupid idea if you intend to run your A/C to maintain a constant 24 or 25 C in the house. Why do you want to trap hot air in the attic so that it can penetrate into the ceiling of your living space??? Possibly OK to put insulation below the roof if you do not intend to use A/C frequently.

insulating the roof rafters is idiots idea I saw a few idiots back in the states do it for there customers
i just laughed at them under my breath your trapping hot air in the attic that all you are doing
I agree with jagrunner