It's a hundred degrees out there. Will spraying my roof with water cool it through evaporative cooking?

__________________
You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman

Dude, it's like 82.

__________________
'07 Yukon 2500
'13 Subaru Outback 3.6R
'13 Orbea Carpe 9-speed

Currently Benzless
Formerly: 300TD, S600, E55, 560SEL

---= The forest breathes, listen.
-Native American elder

Shuddup. Imagine it's 100F like it was a while ago.

__________________
You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman

My neighbor used to spray his brick house on hot days. Seems it might have some effect.

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

That's a lot of water. City water bill might offset the A/C.

__________________
'07 Yukon 2500
'13 Subaru Outback 3.6R
'13 Orbea Carpe 9-speed

Currently Benzless
Formerly: 300TD, S600, E55, 560SEL

---= The forest breathes, listen.
-Native American elder

People on farms do it all the time over here. Just using dam water.
Dont you have good insulation in your place?
A window mount evap would be more effective.
If the humidity is high it would have little benefit.

__________________
Grumpy Old Diesel Owners Club group

I no longer question authority, I annoy authority. More effect, less effort....

1967 230-6 auto parts car. rust bucket.
1980 300D now parts car 800k miles
1984 300D 500k miles
1987 250td 160k miles English import
2001 jeep turbo diesel 130k miles
1998 jeep tdi ~ followed me home. Needs a turbo.
1968 Ford F750 truck. 6-354 diesel conversion.
Other toys ~J.D.,Cat & GM ~ mainly earth moving

Yeah insulation isn't that great. The place was built too long ago and on the cheap.

I might try it tomorrow when the sun is out and when Swede is not watching Peachparts.

__________________
You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman

Do it Saturday when it's in the 90's again.

-Weatherman Swede

__________________
'07 Yukon 2500
'13 Subaru Outback 3.6R
'13 Orbea Carpe 9-speed

Currently Benzless
Formerly: 300TD, S600, E55, 560SEL

---= The forest breathes, listen.
-Native American elder

Id probably get a ticket if I did that here. We are always in stage water restrictions

__________________
1984 300SD Orient Red/ Palomino
1989 560SEC
2016 Mazda 6 6 speed manual
1995 Ford F-150 reg cab 4.9 5speed manual

What color is your roof? If you've got dark colored shingles on it, you could try covering them with white roof sealer.

No joke - that was BO's energy secretary's main idea to help save energy - have everyone paint their roof white.

On a similar line, couple years back CARB was seriously thinking about mandating that only white or light colored vehicles be sold in CA - their reasoning was that they would use less gas to power the A/C than a dark colored vehicle.

Spraying water on the roof should work - but I'd think you'd have to do it nearly continuously to really have an effect. Perhaps one of those garden/patio mister systems for dry climates or a soaker hose - would cut down on the amount of water used.

__________________
Just say "NO" to Ethanol - Drive Diesel

Mitchell Oates
Mooresville, NC
'87 300D 212K miles
'87 300D 151K miles - R.I.P. 12/08
'05 Jeep Liberty CRD 67K miles
Grumpy Old Diesel Owners Club

This might work with my 112 year old Victorian...but I'll be darned if I climb up a tall ladder to the 3rd story and spray it with water.

Adding insulation will do wonders. I've added spray insulation foam to the two walls of the house that get the most sun, and it has seemed to help. I need to add about a foot of insulation to the 3rd floor, but it's been too danged hot to get up there.

We currently have window A/C units in each bedroom, and another in the living room. Each room is closed off from the others, so that we are only cooling those rooms. The upstairs bedrooms have 7'6" ceilings, and cool off faster. The living room has 10'4" ceilings, and don't cool off as quickly as the ones upstairs.

Ceiling and/or pedestal fans are a must since they are the only way to move air around.

Since my window units are only 5000 BTU, I tinkered with the one in the living room a bit and found a way to help it cool better...using wire, I've hooked a small fan to the intake of the unit, to help air flow quicker through it. I also changed out the fan inside of the unit with one that allows air to flow at a higher speed. The room now is 18 degrees cooler than outside of the house during the hottest part of the day, which is 8 degree cooler than it used to be.

Adding foam backed curtains also helped keep the rooms cooler, so did changing out the incandescent bulbs for the squiggly ones. They add less heat to the room. We also keep a dehumidifier running in the basement, which seems to help out some as well.

I had hoped to upgrade the heating system with a central air unit, but the cost was higher than what I had in savings...about $12K for the size of the house, including new duct work. That will have to wait at least another year, if we don't move.

Another thing we did that helped...the rooms that aren't cooled have window fans installed and set to exhaust in the front of the house, and intake in the back of the house, and are reversed as the sun direction changes through the day.

__________________
1987 560SL
85,000 miles

Any roofer in AZ will tell you that a white roof reduces interior heat. Multiply that by thousands of homes and pretty soon you're talking real money. It's also always been a given as long as I've been alive that white vehicles are easier to cool, and Lawrence Berkley National Lab has done a study that proves it.
I would think a coat of roof paint would be a cheaper solution than using all that water. Or you could just hose YOURSELF down.

__________________
You're a daisy if you do.
__________________________________
84 Euro 240D 4spd. 220.5k sold
04 Honda Element AWD
1985 F150 XLT 4x4, 351W with 270k miles, hay hauler
1997 Suzuki Sidekick 4x4
1993 Toyota 4wd Pickup 226K and counting

Depends on what is on your roof. I wouldn't want to try painting my three tabs.

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

My dad told me that over 50 years ago. Walk thru a parking lot with an infra red non contact thermometer, and you'd be amazed at the temperature differences.--or just use your hand.

__________________
1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

Don’t waste all that water, get shiny aluminum for roofing. Not only can you annoy the living 5hit out of your neighbors with it, it is just about the best way to reflect heat, other than using gold leaf. A shiny gold roof would anger the neighbors even more, plus maybe blind passing airplane pilots and fry birds that rest on the roof.

And, uh, rather than having the roof re-done, just use foil.

Send us a pix after you’ve finished the new “do.”