Meet the Windsor, Ont. couple who have slept outside since April to beat the heat | CBC News

Finding it a bit steamy this summer? You’re not alone. Across Canada, people say they are really feeling the heat, especially in their homes. And we’re tracking it. CBC teams have installed temperature and humidity sensors in dozens of homes in several cities, including Windsor, Ont., to see just what happens to people when things go from hot to sizzling to seriously dangerous. This is one of those stories.

Driving around the east end of Windsor, Ont., it’s hard to miss Brenda Reidy and Keith Rousseau’s home. The front door, steps and benches have all been hand painted with the colours of the rainbow; just a preview of the lifestyle the couple have adopted together. Inside, LED lights of different colours dance along surfaces of artifacts from around the world, DIY projects and artwork which they’ve painted directly on the walls. 

Something else that’s hard to miss is the indoor heat. After deciding not to use air conditioning, possibly ever again, the couple has instead adopted their own cooling routine, one that has its very own eccentric components. And experts say they may be onto something. 

Reidy, 48, and Rousseau, 45, used to have a central air unit for the house when it was purchased nearly 20 years ago: an old Chrysler model that had been refurbished. According to them, it quickly ran its course.

“A couple of years [back], it just got so expensive to run,” said Reidy. “And [Keith] doesn’t like air conditioning, so we thought, let’s give it a shot [without it].”

“This is our best year yet. We’ve learned some things and we’re getting the system down,” Reidy said. “Environmentally, it’s nice not to be spending energy on and [we’re] saving money. It’s just better.”

Windsor couple describe their backyard fort

Brenda Reidy and Keith Rousseau show off their backyard fort, which is where they sleep in the summer instead of inside their house.

One of the most drastic changes the pair have adapted is the decision to regularly sleep outside, something they’ve done nearly every evening since April. What they call their “summer bedroom” is their back porch, now tarp-clad and complete with a mattress, television, LED lighting and mini fans. 

“This is Fort McCourt,” Rousseau said. “We sleep here, we spend time here, we watch television here and whatnot.” 

Reidy and Rousseau have been married now for five years, but they chose not to take each other’s last names. Instead, they have a “made-up” last name for both of them they use playfully, a nod to author Frank McCourt, one of the first topics they bonded over. 

“It is our bedroom. It’s our summer bedroom,” said Reidy. “We have a bed, a chair, an end table. It’s pretty cosy in there.” 

The necessity of the couple’s decision to sleep outside is reflected in some of the data collected by a temperature and humidity monitor installed at their home by CBC News at the end of June. Readings have shown several days with temperatures above 30 degrees inside and humidity inching toward 70% on multiple occasions.

Brock University Kinesiology Professor Stephen Cheung has been studying how the body reacts to extreme heat as temperatures rise. He said for homes in Canada, heat and humidity tend to stick around, since most of them are built for the cold.

“Because of the strong insulation, we can have a lot of heat built up inside the house, even though the outside temperature may not be as hot,” he said. 

“Anytime the air temperature is getting close to your body temperature of [37 degrees], you’re definitely under a lot more stress. Adding humidity, you’re also not going to be able to get rid of [that] heat via sweating.”

For those without air conditioning, however, Cheung says adopting different solutions to stay comfortable in the heat is a smart idea, something Reidy and Rousseau have down to a science.

Along with their retrofitted backyard bedroom, Reidy and Rousseau often work opposite shifts. Depending on the day, a painted rock that sits on their bathroom sink is used to indicate whether or not the windows will be opened or closed to better regulate the temperature. 

“We learned this year not to just leave the windows open all the time. We have to close them during the day so the heat doesn’t get in, and open them at night,” said Reidy.

“If the windows aren’t the right way, then you go do what you need to do and you flip the rock, and that’s a good way to know.”

Perhaps the most whimsical feature of the couple’s coping mechanisms is what they call their “wind tunnel.” A hoop attached to the footboard of their bed sits in front of a fan, and then a sheet is stapled around it to create a concentrated burst of air. 

“I used to do it when I was little,” said Rousseau. “Just like with a box fan, I’d put it at the base of my bed and pull the blanket over. The dog likes it too.” 

Cheung commends the use of fans for those who don’t have air conditioning.

“Even with high temperatures and relatively high humidity, [fans] will still have a net benefit in terms of cooling,” he said.

“A fan isn’t necessarily dropping the air temperature,” he said. “But a fan is still doing an effective job of cooling you down by moving air across your body, which increases the amount of heat being removed from your body and [by] helping the sweat on your body to evaporate.”

Besides using the wind tunnel, which has been painted in a rainbow pattern to make it a more “permanent fixture,” Reidy said she often takes cold showers which helps her reset if she finds herself getting cranky.

For Rousseau, he is all for the adjustments.

“I’m not quite as bothered,” he said. “I’ve been working in factories for a long time. So when I come home, it’s nice.” 

“I just wear less clothes, try to relax as much as I can and I avoid going upstairs.” 

Cheung explained that a lot of these makeshift solutions are ultimately “Band-Aid” solutions as the climate continues to change, citing drier climates like the Middle East and Phoenix, where even using fans is no longer effective at a certain point. But for now, he commends the couple’s creativity.

“They’re adopting different solutions which are viable and not risky. It’s helping financially and helping the environment long-term,” he said. “I applaud them for doing something creative and out of the norm.”

Cheung also said their choice in considering the environment is worth noting.

“[There is a] futility of long-term reliance on air conditioning, because it does use up so much energy, which will add to global warming in the long term.”

Though their system works for them, Reidy and Rousseau acknowledge that things may have been different for them if they didn’t own their own home. 

“I don’t know if this would be as fun or easy if I had different circumstances,” said Reidy. “We have a lot of opportunity to be outside, but in an apartment or something [they] may not have that privilege.”

Not everyone without air conditioning has to be so creative, according to Cheung.

“Very good modelling studies have calculated that, even at 39 C in healthy adults, fans are still capable of cooling the body,” he said. “[Even] keeping windows open to permit airflow is one viable strategy to reduce indoor heat accumulation.”

For the Windsor, Ont. couple, they likely won’t be going back again. 

“One of the reasons [we] gave this a shot is because I [used to] say I could never live without air conditioning,” Reidy said.

“I didn’t like that I said that. I’m like, ‘come on, that is something you could live without.’ And you know what? You can, and you can live pretty happily without it I think.”

Throughout the summer, CBC News will continue to share stories from families who agreed to take part in our Urban Heat Project in Windsor.