Keeping the House Cool Without Air Conditioning

I recently lost the use of the air conditioning unit where I live. With temperatures over 95 degrees, I was desperate for a way to cool the house. I did some research into alternate ways to cool the home and this is what I found.

Open Windows for Breeze ~
I know that sounds really obvious but I completely overlooked it at first. The wind is blowing outside at least a little bit almost all the time. You can take advantage of that breeze. Opening a single window in a room really doesn't seem to make much difference, but if you open two windows, especially two different windows on two different walls, you will create a breeze that goes through the room, in one window and out the other.

If your house is getting full sunlight on the roof, it's heating up the inside of your home. Sometimes it heats it up more than the air outside! Having a breeze come through window-to-window exhausts that heated-up air and at the same time brings in that outside air that may be cooler. Even if the two air temperatures are the same air that is moving always gives you the impression of being cooler. So it's almost always beneficial to open your windows and allow that breeze to come through.

Exhaust Fans ~
Nighttime air is almost always cooler than daytime air. You can take advantage of the nighttime air to bring down the over all temperature of your home so that you start at a lower temperature first thing in the morning. Without mechanical air conditioning your house is certain to get warmer during the day, but a house that starts at 62 degrees in the morning won't get nearly as hot as a house that was already at 75 degrees when you woke up.