Camping in Comfort: HVAC Essentials

It wouldn’t be summer without at least one camping trip. It’s a time to get in touch with nature. To sit around the campfire telling stories and toasting marshmallows. To try desperately to keep cool under the unbearable, scorching heat.

So camping does have its drawbacks. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to mitigate the heat and keep yourself cool and comfortable in the great outdoors. Here are a few tips.

Pre-Planning

• Choose the right tent. Choose a tent made of a breathable material, such as cotton, to keep heat from getting trapped inside. Mesh windows can also help, by providing ventilation. And in the summer, there’s less chance of rain, so you can even leave the rain fly off, to open up airflow even more.
• Choose the right location. Pitch the tent out of direct sunlight. Look for trees that can provide shade from the heat. If you can, camping near a body of water also helps keep things cooler.
• Dig a hole. If the area allows it, dig a two foot hole and pitch your tent in it. Temperatures are cooler below ground level, and it will help keep you comfortable as you sleep.

Camping HVAC Essentials

• Use fans. If you’ve brought a generator, or have some other reliable power source nearby, then bring an extension cord and plug a fan or two into it, to provide a refreshing breeze. Or if you don’t have a place to plug it in, get a battery operated fan.
• Get a portable A/C. There are plenty of small HVAC systems you can bring with you. Some are specifically designed for camping and outdoor use. Running on a 12-volt battery, it can provide hours of cooling with a gallon of water.
• Take an RV. You don’t have to sleep in a tent to go camping. A typical RV has all the HVAC essentials to keep you cool, while still letting you get out into nature to relax and unwind.

For more HVAC essentials to keep you cool this summer, contact us at CCAC. We’re Corpus Christi’s source for quality heating and cooling solutions.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Corpus Christi, Texas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about your HVAC system, download our free Home Comfort Guide or call us at 361-678-2495.