As we’ve mentioned when we were buying a home, we knew we did not have central air conditioning in this house which means we are using others way to keep the house comfortable in the warmer months. We close the blinds, we have ceiling fans and we also are strategic with the windows. During the day all windows in the house remain closed so hot air stays out. In the evening we open the second floor windows to let in the cool night air. It is amazing how cool and refreshing the whole house is in the morning just from those 7 hours or so of cooler air getting in.
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Although I have A/C, I do those things to reduce the need. It works very well.
We have some window units. I really need to test them (they came w/ the house) before the first heatwave hits us.