Beating the heat - suggestions required

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Kneo

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I'll be traveling to my native place in Gujarat with my 5 month old son and will be staying there for a few days. Unfortunately, my town suffers from extreme dry heat in the summers and our bedroom is located on the top floor of my house i.e. we have the terrace as the roof of our bedroom. Because of the continuous sun rays, the terrace heats up during the day and dissipates the heat in the bedroom at night making it a furnace!

I am trying to find a few solutions to economically beat this heat. I cannot afford installing an AC there as its financially not viable. A cooler maybe, but even that is not recommended as eventually it would not be able to cope up with that extreme dry heat at night.

What are the other solutions for this? I am thinking on the following lines but am not sure whether it would work or not

1. Cover the terrace with dry grass (messy) or tarpaulin (cheap and portable) to avoid the sun rays. With a tarpaulin or a gunny bag sheet (bardaan), i can have some space between the floor and the covering allowing the air to flow and hence reducing the temps further (is this the right idea?)

2. Put a coat of lime (regular chuna) on the terrace to reflect the heat. This may cut it down by a few degrees.

3. Install a cooler - least preferred idea. May combine a cheap cooler with one of the above option.

Maybe people staying in extreme heat areas would have better ideas.
 
If it is a private terrace you can setup up a make shift roof which can expand to cover the whole when you need.
 
Cooler for one.

+something we used to do in college on the top floor rooms: Hang a couple of wet bedsheets in the room. Will have a cooling effect as it dries. Rinse and repeat once they dry.

Also, after every couple of hours during the day (if its unbearable), AND once its evening, go to the roof and use a hose or bucket of water to cool the terrace above the bedroom :) It helps.
 
Water is scarce - so cannot waste it. Also the hassles of the wet bedsheets is too much as cannot do that every half an hour (i am assuming that it would end up drying up in 30 mins flat because of the dry heat there)
 
Thermocol sheets on the terrace+ a couple of those large cheap green cloths that are very common here these days on the walls outside (you will have to weigh them down with some wood sticks so that they don't blow away) will cut down your temperature to a huge extent. Leave the windows open in the evening to let cool air in.
 
Thermocole is an excellent suggestions - I'm definitely going to check that one out - but why the green sheets? A white thermocole sheet would reflect the heat back much more efficiently
 
Find a hotel with AC.

Nothing else is possible otherwise.

Thermocole ?! ..ahh u mean polystyrene.
 
Kneo said:
Thermocole is an excellent suggestions - I'm definitely going to check that one out - but why the green sheets? A white thermocole sheet would reflect the heat back much more efficiently
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They are probably cheaper - I see them everywhere here in Ahmedabad. Tea kitlis etc have them over their roofs. It is definitely cooler under them. Just an idea though, why not ask and see if there's another solution. :)

Btw you can't likely have thermocole sheets on the walls outside unless stuck on!
 
well i painted the roof white and there is a 2 degree drop in tempertature,anyway in my village where u dont find thermocal or any fancy man made stuff i put coconut leaves/branch,as long as direct sunlight doesnt fall on the roof it will be cooler inside,despide doing all these u will still need a air cooler,either keep it in the door or window.
 
AK3D said:
Thermocol sheets on the terrace+ a couple of those large cheap green cloths that are very common here these days on the walls outside (you will have to weigh them down with some wood sticks so that they don't blow away) will cut down your temperature to a huge extent. Leave the windows open in the evening to let cool air in.
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+1 !!!!!!!!!
 
apply chuna and then keep thermocol sheets over it the best an economical solution.

have used it with effect in Ahmedabad and Rajkot so it will be usefull every where in Gujarat.

Cooler should not be preferred. Another option would be to hang khas mattress over windows with watering frequently which will fight heat a lot.

And with such a little kid with you dont forget about hydration part, drink plenty of fluids specially make the kid drink a lot of liquids above breast feeding.

btw which city?
 
^Medpal ji, cant bear this place during summers! :(

Staying in a room right beneath the terrace. :cry:

Might want some suggestions like these from you, shall ping you sometime.
 
malhotraraul said:
if u sponsor it, why not, squeeze me in too !!!!!! :bleh:
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He said only 'for a few days' :P

Thing with polystyrene is so long as there is no access to the terrace its workable. Otherwise its not a long term solution. You would have to cover it with something or its gonna get dry and flake off. Further, what about the surrounding walls, they also get heated up too right :)

At most u could expect a 2-5 degree drop.

For a place thats over 40 degrees (avg) thats not a lot.

Ceiling Fans would be on 24/7 in places like this quite close to max even.
 
If you dont hav a problem of water leakage, then a small amt of water held on the surface wil really cool the room..

secondly, since its dry there, the cooler wil be the best..cooler doesnt work in humid conditions, though some recommend not to use a cooler around a toddler..

Another solution would be to spread gunny bags over the terrace floor, and water them to the max limit..
 
@medpal - Its your city - SURAT

@gannu - Amen to that - the heat in Surat is unbearable, specially in the afternoons when you have to travel on a bike - its a killer.

@medpal - The 5 month old is still surviving just on breast milk and boiled moong dal water. I guess we should start giving him water though. Thanks for the suggestion. Will talk to some pediatrician and get it started soon.

I am planning to go for a cooler and another suggestion suggested by a member on TBHP - A coat of Surya Cool Cement (approx 200 bucks for 5 kg) on the terrace.
 
Kneo said:
@medpal - Its your city - SURAT

@gannu - Amen to that - the heat in Surat is unbearable, specially in the afternoons when you have to travel on a bike - its a killer.

@medpal - The 5 month old is still surviving just on breast milk and boiled moong dal water. I guess we should start giving him water though. Thanks for the suggestion. Will talk to some pediatrician and get it started soon.

I am planning to go for a cooler and another suggestion suggested by a member on TBHP - A coat of Surya Cool Cement (approx 200 bucks for 5 kg) on the terrace.
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Needless to say, but, please visit only if it is a must i.e. there is no other alternative. I am already feeling bad for the toddler.

~LT
 
we just spray water on the roof and make sure its pretty wet. This is in the afternoon.

Kinda helps , but not much
 
Kneo said:
A coat of Surya Cool Cement (approx 200 bucks for 5 kg) on the terrace.
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Anyone have an opinion on this ?

I think it would be less effective compared to the polystyrene idea, which as it is, only covers the roof and not the exposed walls.

Here's his discussion on the other forum.
 
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