Backup Power Just Won't Run the Air Conditioner

When Hurricane Irene came in late August of last year, that giant storm took out power to millions of Americans from North Carolina to Maine, and every state all along the coast in between. (A week after the storm had passed, many of them were still without power.) Then it was Alabama and Mississippi's turn, when Lee caused widespread power outages in those states. Spring thunderstorms this year have brought power outages across the nation, such as the thousands of people in the Magnolia, Arkansas area who were without electrical service after a massive spring thunderstorm passed through in the early morning hours of June 12th.

It seems that these days, major, prolonged power outages are just business as usual. Give me the choice between a power outage in the winter or the summer and frankly, I'd rather lose power in the winter when I can fire up my nice, cozy woodstove. Call me a wimp, but I hate living without air conditioning.

As we saw Hurricane Irene's storm track approaching our area last year, I was pretty much counting on losing power. (We always do, and we were prepared.) We had backup battery power to keep our sump pumps from overflowing, our freezer running, and a few lights on at night.

But there's one thing that backup power can't do, and that's run energy-hogging air conditioners.

Without A/C, how do you sleep at night?

Where I live, summer means hot... and summer means humid... even at night. Without air conditioning, most sensible people would simply open up their windows to catch the night breeze. (Never mind the fact that most homes today aren't designed to catch a cross breeze.)

We were out of power for four days; I'd pretty much anticipated that. But what I hadn't counted on was how noisy it would be at night with the windows open... because so many of my neighbors were running generators. When you're on a quarter-acre lot in suburban tract housing, those puppies are loud. So I had a choice: I could keep cool with the windows open, and lie awake with those darned generators buzzing loudly all night... or I could close the windows, enjoy the quiet, and try to sleep in a stuffy, un-air-conditioned bedroom.

I'll be the first to admit that when the power is out, I turn into a grouch. My family will wholeheartedly testify to that fact. And if I can't sleep at night on top of that power-outage-induced grouchiness... well, let's just say it ain't pretty. You know the saying... when mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.

But in the aftermath of Irene, it was different. Despite the heat and humidity outside, despite the lack of air conditioning, I slept like a baby. That's because as I was tossing and turning that first humid night without power, I suddenly remembered a remarkable piece of technology sitting in my home office that I'd barely taken out for a spin. I grabbed my LED flashlight, tiptoed to my office, and grabbed my new best friend - the Summer Survival Mat.

The off-the-grid cooling technology that requires no power source

The Summer Survival Mat may not look high-tech... but I assure you, it is. This plain, ordinary-looking mat has a secret. What is it? It's the patent-pending gel inside. The non-toxic water-based gel inside the Mat literally steals the heat from your body... and locks it inside the gel. The Mat will help you keep cool for hours. And it does it with no batteries, no electricity... no power of any kind.

All you do is lay or sit on the Mat, or drape it across your skin. You'll feel its soothing, cooling relief begin immediately... and best of all, it keeps on cooling for several hours.

You know how when you're trying to sleep and you're too hot? You flip over your pillow for that sensation of soothing coolness against your skin. Aaaaah! Don't you love that feeling? The only downside is that it only lasts about three minutes until you have to flip your pillow over again. The Summer Survival Mat gives you that same soothing, cooling refreshment... but instead of lasting just a few minutes, it lasts for hours. Plenty of time for you to fall asleep in total comfort.

Once the Summer Survival Mat has reached its heat absorption capacity, it simply becomes inactive. There's nothing to unplug, and nothing to switch off. But here's the best part - when your body is no longer in contact with the mat, the gel automatically resets itself for the next use.

The Summer Survival Mat is 35 inches by 55 inches, the perfect size to keep you comfortable while you're lying in bed. But it's also portable. Simply fold it up, tuck it under your arm, and take it with you.

We were without power for four days and three nights thanks to Irene... three nights that would have been a whole lot longer and a whole lot more miserable without the Summer Survival Mat. Even the kids remarked at how much less grumpy I was during this power outage.

It's not just for power outages. I use it every day.

Now that the hurricane is well over and the power's back on, I haven't put the Summer Survival Mat away. One of my kids came home from school earlier this week with all the symptoms of a full-blown summer cold. She was hot, flushed, and miserable. I placed the Summer Survival Mat on her bed, put a glass of o.j. on her nightstand, handed her a good book, and made her lay down. I could have skipped the o.j. and the book, because what really made her comfortable was the Summer Survival Mat.

But that's not what I like best about the Mat. I'm using it almost every day... for something else entirely.

I just turned 50. And for you women out there who are about my age, you know what that means. Along with that milestone number comes those wild temperature fluctuations we women are often "blessed" with. You know what I'm talking about. You're just sitting there, and all of a sudden you feel like you could go up in flames. You want to go stand by the refrigerator, open the door, and just hang out... heck, you want to climb in! Well, I've found my antidote, and it's the Summer Survival Mat. The second I feel a hot flash coming on, I just take a five minute break from whatever I'm doing, lay down on my Summer Survival Mat, put my feet up... and I'm instantly more comfortable. It cools me down fast. In five minutes, I'm refreshed and ready to go.

The Summer Survival Mat may indeed be the perfect off-the-grid air conditioner, but it's so much more than that. Why wait until the power is out to use it? You don't have to set your summer thermostat to "refrigerate" when you have the Summer Survival Mat... so it's a great way to save on your air conditioning bills. The Summer Survival Mat is a portable cooling system you can take with you wherever you go: take it along to your un-air-conditioned cabin in the woods, in your RV, even to work! (Your boss will actually thank you, because when you're too warm at work, you're much less productive.)

Get yourself a Summer Survival Mat today... but don't do like I did and wait until the power goes out to use it! It has so many practical day-to-day uses that you'll be wishing you'd gotten one years ago. Click here to order.

Stay cool,
Eileen
Team Member, Solutions From Science

P.S. Most of the Summer Survival Mats that are made today are going to Japan, where power is still being rationed since the earthquake and tsunami last year took out much of their power generating capacity. We managed to snag a small supply, but they won't last long. So grab yours today, because once we run out, we may not be able to get any more in for a long time!