Air Conditioner Trouble: It's Hot
Me: (Recap: The air coming out of the AC isn't cold, and the room temperature is 33°C even with it on. This trouble happened suddenly during the day.) It's hot, so I have the shutters completely closed. Even so, honestly, it's hot.
ChatGPT:
Wow... that is a really tough situation.
Closing the shutters blocks direct sunlight, but it creates another problem: "heat gets trapped."
In other words,
you can block some heat from the outside
but the heat generated inside (from people, appliances, the AC indoor unit, etc.) has nowhere to escape.
→ It easily becomes a "sauna state."
🔥 Measures you can try in such a situation (no-cost version)
1. Create an air layer between the shutters and the window
With the shutters closed, opening the window slightly to move the air helps prevent heat from getting trapped.
If you point a fan between the window and the shutter to "ventilate," the heat pocket will dissipate.
2. Use a circulator or fan to push heat upward
Cold air falls downward → sending air toward the ceiling is efficient.
The idea is to stir up the heat near the ceiling and mix it with the cold air from the AC.
3. Create shade for windows and walls from the "outside"
Even if you close the shutters, the exterior wall itself gets scorched and transfers heat inside.
If possible, installing a reed screen or heat-shielding sheet on the outside of the exterior wall or window is very effective.
4. Create a friendly environment for the outdoor unit
This is the most important point here.
If it's on the south side and sucking in direct sunlight and hot air, the cooling capacity drops.
Please try to create "shaded areas with airflow" using a reed screen or parasol.
5. Ways to cool your body directly
Wrap an ice pack in a towel and apply it to your neck.
Use a fan at your feet plus a cooling mat.
Even if the air conditioner's cooling is weak, your perceived temperature will change significantly.
💭 Actually, if you keep the storm shutters closed, you often face the dilemma of "it's not getting cool even though I'm blocking the outside air."
Therefore, "blocking sunlight with shutters" + "circulating the air" + "helping the outdoor unit" these three things seem to be the key.
Finally
Since it was obvious that I would suffer from heatstroke again this summer, or rather around the rainy season, I bought a stick-type ice pack that goes into a thermos, and it proved useful this time.
Here it is.
It has a loop on top to put your finger through, so I use it as is without needing to put it in an extra case. I keep the inner part in the freezer at all times, so I can use it inside the house, and when I'm not using it to cool my body, I can immediately put it back into the thermos.
By doing this, I can naturally prevent everything from getting soaked, and it's convenient because it doesn't melt as much as you'd think when kept in the thermos.
When you want to cool your body, you can't keep it pressed against you forever, and when you want to do something else, you tend to just set it down somewhere, right? In those moments, putting it in the thermos keeps it from melting, which is something I really like about it.
It also came in handy during Obon when I felt unwell and my fever spiked to 39 degrees. There's also the peace of mind that water won't leak.
The water inside is, for what it's worth, a type of bottle you can drink from.