As summer continues to steam ahead and temperatures soar, many of us are trying to stay cool. Here in Belgrade we’ve been having a serious heat wave with unofficial temperature readings in urban areas getting up to 50*C (that’s about 132*F) and Official readings (probably in a forest somewhere by a stream or other body of water) at about 42*C (again, about 117*F)…

That’s some serious heat!

Needless to say that despite my best efforts to keep cool without the A/C in the end I had to turn it on (otherwise I would MELT!). This got me thinking about A/C units, or rather one in particular, the LG Art Cool.

The Art Cool came out several years ago and from day one it was an instant favorite for many people. This really is a sexy looking unit that anyone would love to hang on their wall (it’s a split system so it’s permanently wall mounted, not in the window). But that’s not all there is to the Art Cool… Although the name might imply that the A/C unit itself is a work of art (I’d agree), the best part is that you can actually mount a picture to the unit. So basically the A/C unit acts as a picture frame (or mounting point to be a little more accurate) and goes completely unnoticed.

Retail prices are dropping on these and I’m pretty sure they can now be bought for under $1,000.

Since it’s summer and we’re all trying to beat the heat, what better product to showcase than the classic table top fan.

I, like most of you (probably most) have an air conditioner… but to be honest I don’t like using it unless I have to. Lucky for me my split system unit has a built-in dehumidify function (which I do use) to help me cool down without having to run the main unit.

Now I know more and more of us are looking into ways to be (at least a little bit) more environmentally conscious. Reducing our appliance and electricity usage is a great way to get started towards that goal… and a/c units can use a lot of electricity (even the small ones can use 1KW)… fans use very little in comparison.

The one pictured is all steel construction (so it’s recyclable), has an oscillating function, 6ft power cord and looks very nice. Priced at under $50 it’s a great way to cool down this summer, and next summer, and so on.

Pic borrowed from Lumens.com

The Bianca Direcional Ceiling Fan by Matthews Fan Company… this has to be the coolest ceiling fan I’ve seen in a while. And by cool I mean cool looking, although I’m sure it would also keep you cool (temperature).

I guess you could say that it’s really nothing special, while being very special… all at the same time. While the actual fan unit doesn’t contain any breakthrough technology or anything, it’s still quite clever how someone finally figured out how cool a classic desk fan would be as a ceiling fan.

The unit can rotate and deliver a breeze in any direction while maintaining a small footprint, so it’s easy to mount in awkward places and corners. I like this one and if I was in the market for a ceiling fan I think I’d definitely spend the $400.
(yes it’s a bit pricey, but nice)