Feeling hot, hot, hot… You’re hot, I’m hot, he’s hot, she’s hot. Many of us will recall this popular dance song of the nineteen eighties by Arrow. However, wewould never have realized that the lyricswould take on a literal meaning some twenty years later.
Every day is indeed a Sun- day and while sizzling and steaming are options, there are ways in which we can mitigate, if not nullify, the effects of the burning Sun. Listed below are a few tips which came up on one of our WhatsApp groups.
1. Keep the blinds down during the afternoons.
2. Keep the house well-ventilated in the early mornings and close the windows later.
3. Avoid heavy fabrics and dark colours where your attire is concerned.
4. ‘ Keep yourself and your household- help well-hydrated. Thirst is a sign of dehydration.
5. ‘Mitticool fridges are an option to explore.
6. Hang ‘chiks’ in verandahs and balconies. Ram Pal (9350910431) and Prem (8130453251) are two people who make’ chiks’, as told by Dr Jayanti Seth (D 58) and Shalini Malhotra (C 94A)
7. Surround your house with greenery and occupy the coolest room (North direction).
8. Cover plants with shade cloth and water them in the late evening to prevent evaporation
9. Provide water bowls for the fauna around you.
Recently we had a heated debate over the ideal temperature setting for an air conditioner (AC) in this scorching summer. It is typically around 24-26 degrees Celsius, which is considered comfortable for most people while also being energy-efficient and conducive to not burning a hole in the pocket. Other ways to maximize the efficiency of an AC while saving on electricity bills include:
1.Use of ceiling fans along with the AC
2. Ensuring that doors and windows remain closed to prevent cool air from escaping.
3. Providing for a regular AMC of the AC to ensure optimal performance.
While we can continue ad nauseum about how the blazing Sun is burning us up, let us use it to our advantage too. Solar cookers cut down on gas/ electric power thus going easy on the pocket while being a simple sustainable option. I have cooked red beans, lentils, potatoes and even rice successfully and by now I have cracked the code for optimal timings for each. Slow cooking, as we are well aware, adds its own flavour. Actually, my mother-in-law and I had shared a solar cooker decades ago but I cannot remember why it was put on the back-burner. My advice, for what it is worth, would be to be cool and use a solar cooker and also invest in solar power for generation of electricity and heat.
