How Do I Cool My House When My AC Is Broken?
Block direct sun, stop adding indoor heat, move air where it helps, and use outdoor air only when conditions are cooler and safe. Close the hottest rooms during the day, avoid the oven and dryer, and move anyone who is vulnerable to heat to a cooler place. If someone has heat-illness symptoms, seek urgent medical help.
Reduce heat first, then share the system symptom and the household safety concern.
Block the heat
Close blinds and curtains on sunny windows. Keep doors shut between the hottest spaces and the cooler part of the home.
Stop adding heat
Skip the oven, stove, dryer, and unnecessary lights. Cook without heating the room and keep activity light.
Move air carefully
Use fans for air movement and open windows only when outdoor air is cooler, cleaner, and safe for the household.
The first hour without cooling
Start with shade. Close sunny windows and reduce the heat sources you control. A fan can make a person feel cooler by moving air across the skin, but it does not lower the room temperature by itself.
- Close blinds or curtains on sun-facing windows
- Stop using the oven, dryer, and other heat-producing appliances
- Move to the coolest part of the home if it is safe and comfortable
- Keep drinking water and watch how people are responding to the heat
Use outdoor air only when it helps
When the outdoor air becomes cooler than the house, cross-ventilation can flush heat out through windows on different sides of the home. Close windows again when outdoor heat, humidity, smoke, or poor air quality makes the exchange unhelpful. Secure windows and supervise children around open openings.
- Use fans to move air through the home, not to create a false cooling promise
- Avoid bringing in outdoor smoke or extreme humidity
- Close windows when outdoor conditions become warmer
- Keep portable fans and cooling equipment on safe, appropriate circuits
When comfort becomes a safety issue
Heat affects infants, older adults, people with medical conditions, and anyone who is pregnant or working in the heat more quickly. Watch for confusion, faintness, severe headache, vomiting, or unusual weakness. Move the person to a cooler place and seek urgent medical care when symptoms are serious or worsening.
- Do not leave a vulnerable person or pet in a hot room
- Use a cooler location if the home cannot stay safe
- Call emergency services for a medical emergency
- Treat smoke, sparks, burning odor, or electrical danger as a separate emergency
What to tell the repair contact
Describe whether the system is silent, blowing warm air, tripping a breaker, leaking water, or icing. Note whether the issue affects the whole house or one zone, and say what changed before the loss of cooling. Do not open electrical panels or refrigerant circuits to look for the answer.
- Thermostat display and setting
- Indoor blower and outdoor-unit behavior
- Ice, water, noise, odor, or breaker changes
- Any safety condition that makes the home unsafe
Questions while the AC is down
Should I open the windows when my AC is broken?
Only when outdoor air is cooler and safe for the household. Close them when outdoor heat, humidity, smoke, or poor air quality makes the exchange unhelpful.
Do fans cool a house without AC?
Fans move air and can make people feel cooler, but they do not lower the room temperature by themselves. Use them where they improve comfort and keep them on safe circuits.
When is a hot house an emergency?
It becomes a safety concern when anyone is showing heat-illness symptoms or cannot safely cool down, especially infants, older adults, and people with medical vulnerabilities. Move to a cooler place and seek urgent help.