Folks, it's hot out there and these air conditioners are selling fast! We’ve got a selection of window units, portable ACs, and fans from famous brands like Haier, Magnavox, GE, and Comfort Zone! You may find air conditioners like this: 8000 BTU window air conditioner with 3 cool settings from Magnavox is just $189.99 - the fancy stores sell the same thing for $260! Frigidaire 14,000 BTU Portable Room Air Conditioner with Supplemental Heat Frigidaire 14,000 BTU Portable Room Air Conditioner Frigidaire 12,000 BTU Portable Room Air Conditioner with Supplemental Heat Frigidaire 12,000 BTU Portable Room Air Conditioner Frigidaire 10,000 BTU Portable Room Air Conditioner Frigidaire 8,000 BTU Portable Room Air Conditioner Frigidaire 5,000 BTU Portable Room Air Conditioner Frigidaire 7,000 BTU Portable Room Air Conditioner Frigidaire 9,000 BTU Portable Room Air Conditioner with Supplemental Heat Frigidaire 9,000 BTU Portable Room Air Conditioner

Ed. note: We've covered the homemade air conditioner territory before on Lifehacker, but HackCollege's Kelly Sutton offers this awesome video guide to the DIY, dorm-legal air conditioner to help students (or anyone trying to save a few bucks) stay cool. Many campuses have strict policies regarding portable air-conditioners. Because A/C ain't cheap, schools worry that students would overcool their rooms and increase the electricity bill (after all, you don't pay utilities for your dorm room)—or maybe admins are worried about improperly affixed units falling off the sides of buildings. ac unit capacityEither way, some campuses are unbearably hot during the earlier parts of fall and give students no way to remedy the situation. car air conditioning units for saleWhen you have no other option, just build it yourselfBelieve it or not, it's possible to build your own air conditioner for about $40. heating cooling portable unit

Well technically, it's not an air conditioner; it's more of a heat-concentrator. It will cool even the hottest dorm room to a nippy 60 degrees Fahrenheit in no time. To get started, you'll need to make a trip to the hardware store. You will be building a unit that absorbs heat into some water, allowing you to quickly dispose of that water outside.MaterialsA floor-standing fan like this one (although not as expensive)Some 1/4" copper tubing. Some 1/4" inner-diameter rubber tubingAbout 50 zip-ties2 small hose clamps2 bucketsTools InstructionsDetach the face of the fan and put it on your work bench or table.Grab your zip-ties and copper tubing. Start coiling the copper tubing around the face of the fan. Use the zip-ties about every 6 inches to attach that section to the fan face. Make sure that both ends shoot out the bottom of the fan's face.Take your hose clamps and secure the rubber tubing onto either end of the copper tubing. If you need to cut your copper tubing, don't forget to sand the edges before you start working with the tubing.

Freshly cut copper is very sharp.Fill up one of your buckets with water.Position the bucket full of water on a ledge or a desk—someplace above ground level.Siphon the water through the contraption to the bucket on the floor. (Bernoulli's Principle in action!)Turn on the fan.After a few minutes, all of the water will drain into the bucket on the floor. You can now dispose of this lukewarm bucket as you see fit. Repeat a few times to get your room extra chilled.Many ways to skin a catThis is just one way of creating a dorm room cooling device. You can also create something more akin to a "swamp cooler" if you're looking for something a tad simpler. A swamp cooler is just a device that usually just moves air over a body of water to aid in evaporation and spreading the chill. This isn't so great if you're looking to keep the humidity down. Or you can always just seek inspiration from Mr. Freeze.The school-bound productivity nuts at weblog HackCollege will be joining us all week to offer their perspective on making the most of your Back to School regimen.

DIY Air Conditioner – I grew up in California where the summers would get into the triple digits. My husband & I moved to Idaho and bought a home that does not have central air conditioning. I didn’t think it would matter coming from California but as it turns out, hot, no matter how hot, is just miserable! For the summer I live in the basement where it is much cooler. I am on the lookout for creative ideas to keep our home cool so that I am not trapped in the basement. One idea I’ve come across is the DIY Air Conditioner.  These seem to be mostly for tents.  I decide to make one to see if it would cool down in my small home office.   It cost $11 to make because I already had the fan.  It is not pretty but it (along with a stand up fan) does help my 81 degree office feel like 75 degrees.  It is a nice upgrade if you are just using a small fan to stay cool.  It seems to be useful only if it is directly blowing on me since it has only lower the room temperature by one degree.  

To see the air conditioner I made scroll to the bottom of the page. (click on the pictures below for step-by-step instructions) See full article at DIY & Crafts See full article at eHow See full article at Off Grid Survival Other articles you might be interested in: Copyright © 2016 | WordPress Theme by MH ThemesSome like it hot. Some like it as cold as ice. But if you’re living without air conditioning and stuck sweating it out in a hot house or trying to get some sleep in a sweltering apartment, then chances are you’re feeling a little too hot to handle these days. Various zones around the world are experiencing a heat wave of sorts this summer. My home province, British Columbia, is currently roasting at 38 degrees Celsius, that’s just over 100F. I’m sure my American friends in Texas and Las Vegas are thinking me a lightweight. But if you’re not acclimatized to dang hot weather and don’t have air conditioning, then coming home after work feels like getting out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Since I’d rather be as cool as a cucumber at night, I’ve found some hot ways to stay cool on the cheap. These DIY cooling tactics won’t replace central air or an air conditioner, but you just might feel more comfortable in the heat. Here are 6 cheap ways to stay cool without air conditioning: I’m not talking about becoming a Squawkfox fan on Facebook, but rather investing a little cold cash into a simple fan. There are many types of fans on the market these days and they vary in cost, power usage, and placement. Here are a few of the more popular types: Running the blower (or fan) for your centreal heating system will move air around your home and give you some heat relief. Turning on the blower won’t keep you chilled like air conditioning, but you’ll take the stuffy out of upper floors and move stale air from main floors. The blower will also move cool air from the basement to the rest of the house. If your home is blazing hot and you can’t handle the heat upstairs, try sleeping in the basement to cool your costs.

Setting up a bed and sleeping below ground is free and can help you catch some ZZZs when the weather is unbearable. I’ve spent most of this summer slumbering in my basement and I think it’s an awesome use for an often unloved space. If you’ve got kiddlets then make it a game and lay out some sleeping bags and pretend you’re camping. You may just have some frugal fun while you’re at it. Planting trees on the south side of your home can help reduce summer cooling costs. Deciduous trees, which lose their leaves in the fall, provide ample shade in the summer, keeping your home cooler while letting more warming light through in the winter. Planting trees around your home can have the added bonus of increasing your property value too. A smaller deciduous tree costs around $50 and can pay for itself in energy savings and increased property value. Your existing drapes and blinds can be closed to shut out the heat during the day and opened to keep you cooler at night. Drapes tend to shield you from sizzling summer heat by shading your home from the hot afternoon sunlight.