I've seen a lot of posts here about cooling down houses. Thought I'd do a brain dump here, and I'd love any edits or suggestions!

Appliances

• Any device that uses electricity and is not vented adds heat to a room. This includes Fans, Refrigerators, computers, etc. A 100 watt box fan is the same as a 100 watt space heater or heat lamp.
• Takeaway: Do all you can to limit energy usage in your house. LED lightbulbs, and turn off everything when you're not using it.

Insulation

However you're cooling your house, sealing drafty windows and doors, and upgrading your insulation can have a great ROI and keep your house more comfortable year round.

Windows and doors

• Open windows and doors when the outside air is cooler than the inside air, and use fans to vent air. Use heavy shades to block the sun from coming into windows. Often this means opening windows at night and closing windows and shades during the day to keep place cool.
• A long term plan includes shading windows in the summer and letting light in the winter. Trees do this naturally, and exterior awnings can also help.

Fans

• Fans can make you feel cooler if they're blowing directly on you by speeding up heat transfer from your body to the room. They are more effective if you're wet (Out of the shower or sweating).
• Fans do not cool down a room, and actually will heat up a closed / poorly ventilated room. Turn off fans when you're not actively using them.

Air Conditioning

• air conditioning units use electricity to move heat from inside your house to a heat exchanger usually outside your house. They are power-hungry devices, but do blow consistently cool, dry air.
• Self-contained "vented" units will be less efficient, because they must have the heat exchanger inside the unit instead of outside the house.
• Fun fact: Air Conditioning units operate on the same principal as your refrigerator, which moves heat from inside your fridge to outside your fridge.

Evaporative / Swamp Coolers

• These will only operate effectively in dry climates.
• These are best operated in a window or door, drawing in dry outside air and blowing cool moist air into the room.
• In a closed room, an evaporative cooler will make the room feel less comfortable as it raises the humidity. Eventually, the cooler will loose all effectiveness and the room will be hot and humid.