The temperatures here in the Midwest (we’re in Kansas City) have been a real pain of late. Fortunately, most of us are blessed with a true modern marvel: central air conditioning. I can only imagine what life must have been like before it existed because even spending a a few hours outdoors in the heat is more than enough for me these days. Yes, I’m clearly spoiled, and I’ll bet you are, too. The truth is that it wasn’t so long ago when most of us knew how to deal with being hot.
Putting the uncomfortableness of sweating nonstop aside, I began to wonder what it would be like if we had to live through an extended heatwave for weeks on end without air conditioning due to a power outage. Why? Because I don’t actually believe I’m prepared for such a problem, even though we’re generally prepared for most scenarios on my radar.
In fact, I would vastly prefer having to survive a wintertime blizzard than a summertime heatwave because I can keep us warm using our fireplace and sleeping bags. Cooking regular meals would be more trouble because someone would be outside manning a fire of some sort, but it’s doable. Getting water might be a problem if our barrels and water totes froze solid, but I doubt they would.
Granted, winter survival wouldn’t be a cakewalk, especially without power, but I feel I’m more prepared for that scenario than the heatwave we’re experiencing now.
So, what’s the problem with the heat? Well, if you’re experiencing what I am right now, imagine outdoor temperatures in the low- to mid-nineties and bring that experience indoors for most of the day. Now, up that a few degrees because most homes are relatively well insulated and tend to hold heat, especially when people and pets are active indoors. You can add a few more degrees because people will inevitably do things that add heat, such as by cooking food indoors or bathing.
But, like I said previously, it’s not just about the uncomfortableness of the experience. For instance, there are certainly people who really can’t handle the heat well, such as the elderly, pregnant women, and those with health problems. If you’re one of them, reconsider how well you might fare in such a situation and, more importantly, what you’ll do should it arise. Yes, it’s true that something like a window air conditioner will help a lot, but you’d better think about how to power it because they often use several hundred up to 1,500 watts of power per hour! Most inexpensive inverters can’t handle that load, and even a small solar system would have trouble keeping it running most of the day.
Health concerns aside, I began to think about what would be our biggest problem beside keeping ourselves cool, and I kept coming back to food. For instance, although I know I can keep a refrigerator running using a simple inverter connected to a car battery, I’d always assumed that I would be able to give the inverter and vehicle a break every so often–mostly to conserve gasoline–because refrigerators don’t typically need to run 24/7. But if the indoor temperatures are consistently in the nineties, my guess is that most refrigerators will rarely shut off for any length of time, which means I’ll have to run a vehicle far more often than I assumed simply because it’s so darn hot. Now add in the fact that we have three refrigerators and a massive chest freezer, and I could easily have a vehicle running nonstop just to keep my refrigerated food from spoiling.
[Note: I would absolutely consolidate refrigerators if this were the case, and there are foods which don’t need refrigeration, but it would be a chore to sort out in the beginning.]
I haven’t even mentioned our pantry or bulk foods. It’s my belief that many of these shelf-stable foods would spoil or go rancid in relatively short order in such heat. Even MREs, which are designed to last for years without concern, won’t make it six months at these temperatures. How do you think your peanut butter and crackers are going to fare after a few weeks of a relentless heatwave? Bulk rice and beans may last longer, but heat isn’t good for any foodstuffs no matter what.
Of course, there are ways to combat the indoor heat, such as opening windows to allow a cross-breeze, closing blinds or drapes to shade the sun, not cooking inside, and moving to the lowest level–many homes in the Midwest have basements–but a few degrees lower temperature inside is still hot no matter how you cut it.
What about keeping yourself cool, besides running a power-hungry window A/C? We all have our favorite ideas, including wetting a towel for your neck and head, wearing as little clothing as possible and/or wearing light colors, running a personal fan (a battery-powered fan may be in order if the power is out, but it does use batteries rather quickly, so a smaller personal fan may be the better option), and dunking your feet in cool water. Whatever works for you is fine, but even that might not be enough.
If temperatures stay at absurd levels, you may need to make significant alterations to your lifestyle, such as:
- erecting makeshift awnings out of tarps;
- sleeping/moving to a different place in the house or simply staying outside in the shade during the day;
- staying in your car for most of the day with the air conditioner running (that’s where I’ll be!);
- eating only when the sun goes down (both to keep from heating up the house but also to reduce digestion needs);
- moving in with friends or relatives who do have power.
That last one is surely the most drastic, lol.
And, yes, there will be other problems with a lack of air conditioning during a heatwave without power, such as the potential for mold issues, pesky bugs, and a run on ice at the grocery store, but keeping food from spoiling while also retaining your sanity are two of the biggest. Start to consider now what you might do in the future because having to figure it out in the moment is often too late and, at the very least, will stress you out more than it needs to.
What suggestions do you have to keep cool without air conditioning? I’d appreciate hearing your thoughts.
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