If your home does not feature central air conditioning, it is likely some rooms of the house will be cooler than others, whether or not window air-conditioning units are used. Rather than suffering through a hot summer in rooms you utilize often, such as kitchens or den areas, take steps to pull air from cooler rooms to warmer rooms. This can be done with or without help from a window air conditioner.

Floor Fans

Use floor fans to move cool air from one room to another. For example, if you have a window air conditioning unit in one room but would like to cool an adjoining room, close off any entrances in the air-conditioned room except the one for the room you would like to cool. Place the floor fan in the entranceway facing the room that you wish to cool, as the fan will help pull cool air from the air-conditioned room into the other room.

Attic Fans/Whole House Fans

Attic fans, also called roof exhaust fans, will help keep your entire house comfortable and therefore contribute to the room you want to cool. Your attic should be entirely sealed off from the rest of your home in order for the attic fan to be effective, so use appropriate caulks and insulating materials as needed to fix any cracks or other areas where cool air from the home can be pulled up into the hot attic. Attic fans, which usually are installed in a gable or the actual roof, keep the attic cool and subsequently allow air-conditioning units to work more effectively.

Whole house fans are an option if your home does not feature an attic. Use whole house fans during the night when the outdoor temperature is colder than the temperature inside your house to cool your entire home. Install whole house fans on your house's top floor ceiling and open windows throughout your home. The fan will suck the cooler air from outside via the open windows into your house. If you do not open windows while utilizing a whole house fan, your home can become depressurized very quickly, which will result in combustion appliance back drafts, such as with gas water heaters.

Box Fans

Close off all entrances except for the one that links the two rooms in use. Place a box fan in the window of the hotter room facing outward, which will pull hot air out of the room. Crack a window in the cooler room to help circulate cool air into the room you wish to cool. If the window you wish to place the box fan in does not feature a screen, use towels or other applicable materials to place on either side of the fan.

Additional Tips and Ideas