@henrygates: Thank you. I have tried many many times to make these points to my sister, and yet her bill in the summer is $400!! Mine never goes over $150.

Here's a hint: 74 is FREEZING. People come to your house and ask to borrow a sweater when it's 105 outside.

--Cover the a/c vent in the bathroom, using tape + cardboard, or one of those sexy magnetic duct covers you can get at Home Depot or Walmart. Your bathroom will be warmer, but who really cares?
--If there's a window in the bathroom, crack it open an inch or two.
--Run the fan if there is one for 30 mins or so after using the shower. You can install a timer switch for the fan.
--When the bathroom seems dry, close the window.

I suspect it's really about blowing out grease and odors more than heat anyway, but I'd be curious about any cooling advantage.

@TVarmy: I've heard of those. Initial cost is obscene (not practical at all for single-family houses), but they work well for larger buildings. Amazing how the latest technological development in cooling amounts to a big block of ice.

@HogwartsAlum: My pool hit 80 degrees... like 3 weeks ago. With a solar cover. And it was 90+ degrees.

Otherwise, my pool sits around 70-74 with the solar cover. I'LL SEE YOU THERE!

@You know what ole' Jack Burton always says: Heck no, I lived in Hampstead N.C. and LOVED IT. I wouldn't be in NY if I had a choice! I LOVE THE HOT!

The oven/stove will generate a lot of heat, but unless it's against an exterior wall the fan is probably just blowing air away from the stove and out into the room.

It may still be worth doing, depending on individual tolerances and tastes, temperature and humidity, and one's AC system, but it's not a simple freebie, either.

@econobiker:

My friend is disabled and has remote control ceiling fans b/c she can't reach the switch. I'm definitely thinking about doing that in my own house. It's nice to be able to control the speed from remote instead of trying to figure out how many times to pull the chain.

@HogwartsAlum:
It was 110 in Phoenix the last time I was there. Where I live, Tucson, is supposed to be in the mid 100's this weekend. Those of us who live in southern AZ live here for winters - NOT for summers!

@HogwartsAlum: You should replace fans only as you can get various styles and pricing from $20 to $300+. Some even have remotes for the fan/light. Expect to pay in the $30 to $80 range for a good decent low cost one. If you don't need a light fixture fan then the prices are less. Alot of the pricier ones are only the same guts with different designs,colors, light fixtures. You'll end up with direct to ceiling mount versus the lower hanging pipe mount- most fans are kitted to do both. Fans are only a little tougher to replace than a light fixtures.

One key is to make sure the mounting is strong enough- either commerical type fan electrical boxes or fan supports or even a standard electric box screwed to a cross brace 2x4 if you can get to the attic above. If your current fans are up strong then it probably is ok.

I have put up and taken down fans in multiple places- houses, apartments etc. In the last apartment my spouse and I rented, we put up three fans and then took those plus swapped one other for a cheap light fixture from a yard sale. The maintenance guy had said the complex was redoing the apartment after we left and removing fans from bedrooms anyhow so we'd be saving him effort and money by doing that.

You can get a basic small ceiling fan for about $40 at Wal-Mart (have a couple of those in the secondary bedrooms) or for a good one you can expect to pay about $70 to $100 at Lowe's or Home Depot. I personally like the more expensive ones for the rooms I use all the time, mainly because they look better and can handle 24/7 usage. Fans are also VERY easy to install on your own, if your house has the proper fixtures for them.

@You know what ole' Jack Burton always says: Thank you for the tip. We know the air down/summer and air up/winter deal. It seems that the vaulted ceiling helps hold the too warm, attic like smelling, air which, when the fans are on, keep the poor thermostat too hot. Then my wife gets ~too cool~ with fans directly on her so I gave up on the fans for now.

There are several reasons that the ceiling seems not to be fully insulated- an insert fire place requires uninsulated wall construction and thin insulation at the ceiling ends to start with...

Thanks anyhow.

If your fridge only ran at night, your grandpa would have essentially the same system.

[findarticles.com]

My laptop becomes unusable for games in the summer, making me play outside instead like some kind of Amish gentleman. Do you find your computer having trouble in hot weather? I've been debating getting a desktop to act as a gaming machine once my laptop gets too old to run the new stuff.

From Florida, we keep the blinds and shutters closed 90% of the time during the summer. We have an upstairs AC unit that is not tied to our main unit so we can cool that rising hot air without ACing the whole house. Fans in every room that stay on even when we are out of the room and not home (yes uses energy but keeps the house cooler and less AC energy is necessary). Insulate.

Sometime after we moved out here, my parents realized they didn't need their dehumidifier anymore, so they tried to donate it to Salvation Army or something, but nobody there had ever heard of such a ridiculous contraption. They were like, "It does WHAT?"

But now we come full circle! Now I am the smug arid climate snob, and I laugh at you people in damp locales who don't know what a swamp cooler is.

Ha ha!

@econobiker: the fans may have a switch to have them turn the other way and pull more hot air up..may.

@spanky: Swamp cooler you say? what is that? I live in the swamp, almost literally, so we wouldn't need one....I don't think. Maybe if it cools swamps.

Email reminders when fan has been running for 30/60/90 days. The fan counter is reset when you tell it you have replaced the filters.
Remote management.
3 Setback schedules.
With www.inthrma.com you can adjust anything via blackberry or iPhone. inthrma also provides historical trending including outside temp and humidity.

Remote temp sensors with averaging etc... They are really cool thermostats.

That's how a true geek rolls HVAC.

I live in MO also, and I have the same kind of windows. My little house was built in 1952 so I know what you are talking about.

My kitchen is on the south side of the house, and that's where all my plants are. I can't cover the windows or they wouldn't get any light. But I put a fan in the living room by the door to the kitchen (the kind that's on a tall stand) and when I'm home I run that to get cool air in the kitchen. Also, I don't use the oven unless I have to.

All my ceiling fans have quit working. They're old and came with the house. I don't know how to fix them or who to call. Since my ceilings are low, they help a lot when they actually work.

I hate YOU. It's supposed to be 96 on Friday. The water in my pool will be like a bathtub. Come on down if you dare. ;)

Having said that, your house must be huge! Mine's about 1800 square feet and a 75 degree setting led to my highest bill ever last month of $200. I thought that wasn't too bad, considering the heat wave we've been having.

I put thermal curtains in the house back in June, especially in the windows that get a lot of sun, and that did more to regulate the temperature in the house than anything else I've ever done. It used to be that we could set the A/C on 70, and it would be cold in the bedrooms but still uncomfortably warm in the kitchen. With about $60 worth of thermal curtains in the kitchen, it's comfortable in there now even when I set the thermostat to 77.

The curtains do block a lot of light and really darken a room, so if you want some natural light, open the curtains on the side of the house that isn't being bombarded with direct sunlight.

I imagine if you have newer windows than I do (mine are the old aluminum-frame windows that probably date to 1964 when the house was built), the thermal curtains would make less of a difference. I intend to replace the windows at some point, but curtains cost anywhere from $30 to $60 per window (depending on the size), as opposed to $200 to $800 to replace each window.

I live in Missouri, BTW. Not the hottest place in the world but certainly not the coolest either.

And I'm in Colorado, where it's rare for the humidity to get up into the range where our cheap home weather station even registers it. In fact, we have a swamp cooler for when it gets really really hot.

What? Am I really hearing this? "You lucky ones enjoying the heat"?? Oh yeah, 'cause heat exhaustion is soooo much fun. The heat index where I live in Florida has been above 100 for the last few weeks. You can't "open your window to let out the heat"...that crap just doesn't work here. It's not even 11am and the weather station on the top of my building is showing an index of 96.
I will, however, take summer Florida heat over six inches of ice on my winshield during the winter ANY DAY. Besides, ya get hot...find a beach or hit the springs...hmmmm, I wonder if that would work for my car when the A/C quits working? Can cars swim?

My wife and I rent a home with vaulted ceilings. It does have ceiling fans but these pretty much drag the hot air down so we don't use them much.

Since she works from home, the house a/c has to work during the day. What we've done is put a small 110v window unit in our bedroom for night time and then turn up the house a/c to 80+ during the night. This seems to help some as our may-june bill was $150 versus what it probably could have been without -prior bills were under $90. We also run all compact fluorescent lights, insulated the hot water heater, and I rigged a box fan to blow cooler air up into the oven like attic from the un-airconditioned garage where the attic pull down steps are.

This is in the Nashville TN area so you know it is not that cool...

We have been in the triple digits here in San Antonio recently. If there is no one in the house during the day, set your thermostat timer to stay off until a little before you get home. My bill has gone down with this practice.

@FatLynn: Anything added to your house to make it more "Energy Efficient" is tax deductable as well (Ceiling fans, window tint, etc.)

Now that you all have that mental image for your morning...

This assumes, of course, that it gets cool enough at night.

@Saboth: Fans don't make a room cooler, however, they can make a person feel cooler. Moving air feels cooler to the body. (think wind chill)

Also turn off all the lights in the house during the day. Crack the shades to let in enough light but not much heat. Get used to living in the house without it being as bright as the surface of the sun.

Shop around yearly for electricity. Go online and call as well. Ask for discounted rates, check resellers for new rates. 30 minutes can save hundreds per year. Last year we switched plans and our bills are 20% lower now (adjusted for usage). Set up an Excel spreadsheet and track your use and cost over the last 2-3 years to help you see the trends and set money aside for the expensive months.

Everyone in our city complains about $500+ electric bills, but it's because they crank it down to 75 or below all day. Our bill has never been more than $150, while our neighbor says his is $500 several months out of the year. We have the same size house.

Come visit Nebraska. We had a few nice cool days (the 4th, in particular, dropped to the low 80s), but otherwise we've been hitting the 90s where I am.

I have an all electric house with a heat pump that provides my heating and cooling (resistance heat for the worst months). I cannot believe that people need this kind of advice. Cieling fans and open windows to circulate air? Heavens to Betsy!

All my houses windows are on the North or South side of the house, and it is always at least half in the shade. I bought the most energy efficient windows it made sense to pay for (ones that will still pay for the cost difference in 3 years since I'm not sure how long I'll have the house). These were not a deciding factor in buying the house, but they definately gave it bonus points. I'm shocked that people don't understand these things.

I don't yet have ceiling fans installed, but I have only run the heat pump for about 4 hours all year, and that was to cut the humidity, not so much cool the air.

Well installing it is easy, it's the electrical wiring that is a bit iffy. I do like ceiling fans, but if it is already 80 degrees in your house, you are just going to be pushing around hot air.

@verucalise-T minus 16 days: you say that, but when you guys move down to the hot parts....all you do is complain about it. Damn yankees ;)

@corsec67: Don't be bringing your metric system around these parts.

You can get them for like $50, and anyone with some handtools should be able to install it.

/Japan

Air conditioning?!? Well, first we need the rain to cease for a week or two (Upstate NY) then the weather has to hit at least 85 for more than a day.

But for you lucky ones enjoying the heat... oh, what the hell, I'll just say it.

I hate you all.

yeah, I live in a first floor apartment in Houston. The only way I can get heat to rise faster in this place is to knock a hole through to my upstairs neighbor's place, and perform a 10th-level fire elemental spell to persuade the heat there's someplace less hot to go.