Small comforts

I've settled into a routine now which allows some minor comforts under current circumstances.

With no AC or swamp cooler working, whether home or away, I keep certain windows open and others closed to allow air flow, while keeping drapes and curtains closed. Helps prevent the house from heating up too much during the day.

Watering the garden in the evening helps cool the wind coming from that direction which blows against that side of the house.

Been waking up fairly early, so to ease into the day gradually. Starting with low lighting and listening to the birds outside. Far cry from waiting til the last second to get up and run, as I did in years past. Of course, in those years I often lacked sleep, any way. Multiple jobs, college and so forth.

The house cooling has me thinking of solutions which involve shades and baffles. Problems involve aesthetics, materials and practicality. Has to be done on a large scale to truly measure results but I believe such thing would help retain warmth in winter by reducing convection. If placed well, of course.

I'm going to see about donating (selling) plasma this afternoon, after work. If I can do that on a regular basis, it would mean additional money, up to $300 a month. Which would mean every few weeks I could buy one solar panel and one deep cell battery. It would also free up money to get another car.

With solar power, calculating use is handy if installing a whole system at once. In my case, installing gradually, best to just keep adding until supply exceeds demand by a good margin. Add a wind generator or two for cloudy days at some point. And keep the generator around for security.