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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.
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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.
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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. ;)
@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!
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@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!
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@verucalise-T minus 16 days: What about those of us WITH the heat but not enjoying it?
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.
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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?
@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 ;)
@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!
I turn the AC on when it gets over 35, and the thermostat on the AC is set for 25. That is with 80-100% humidity, though.
/Japan
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Ceiling fan. I put one in my bedroom and I swear it is 3-4 degrees cooler in there than in the rest of the house.
You can get them for like $50, and anyone with some handtools should be able to install it.
@FatLynn: Anything added to your house to make it more \"Energy Efficient\" is tax deductable as well (Ceiling fans, window tint, etc.)
@HomersBrain: You can cool your house by using a fan at night, then sealing up in the morning.
This assumes, of course, that it gets cool enough at night.
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@spanky: You're meaning \"and open the windows,\" right? That can help, but then you can run into another problem with the greater humidity of the night air. It's one of those judgment-call things.
@floraposte: Does your AC have a condensate pump on it? Mine does, so when it runs, it sucks some humidity out of the air and drains it outside.
@TheyCallMeStacey_GitEmSteveDave: Right, but if you're running the fan to get cooler outside air in, you presumably aren't running the AC at the same time, so you're making it moister at the moment (and you therefore need the air to be cooler by a greater factor to make up for the difference). It's also going to take longer for the AC to dehumidify that moister space when it does start to run. So you're going to up your AC use/charges a bit from the need to deal with the additional humidity.
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.
@TheyCallMeStacey_GitEmSteveDave: I thought all air conditioning systems also dehumidified because of how they worked? That's why you get water dripping on your head in the city and see a puddle of water underneath a recently parked car with AC.
@TVarmy: I thought so too, but wasn't sure. I'm not HVAC qualified. I just know the magic box on the wall tells either the magic fire box downstairs or the magic sparky box outside to make me warm or cold. By magic.
@floraposte: Yes, I left that part out, but we open the windows, too, to get up a good airflow throughout the house.
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.
@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.
@You know what ole' Jack Burton always says: I moved to Colorado from the east coast with my family when I was a kid.
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!
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@FatLynn:
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.
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@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)
@HomersBrain: I must disagree. My house has a distinct thermocline. The upstairs has ONE vent and zero returns, save for one on the staircase. As you walk up the stairs, you can feel the change in temp from the bottom floor to the top floor. I installed a vornado fan over one of the vents which pushes the AC and Heat up onto the 2nd floor, and there was an actual change in temp, as it circulates the air around, and allows some of it to get sucked into the returns.
@HomersBrain: Yup. The axiom is \"fans cool people, not rooms,\" so you don't want them on in a room unless you're in it. The exception being whole house fans or other arrangements wherein you're not just moving the air around within the room.
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I have a high performance computer in my bedroom that runs almost 24/7(Also very nice on the electrical bill) Although the computer has to be on and the small overhanging roof can reach 110 degrees at noon time, I have managed to keep my room around 78 degrees by using a box fan to blow the air out([www.amazon.com]). Then with my window open all the cool air from the rest of the house gets sucked up into my room and the hot air leaves. Plus when it cools down at night I open up the bottom half of the window and the vacuum effect brings the cool air in(it is a 2 part window the top half slides down and the bottom half can slide up).
@Psychicsword: Out of curiousity, I've always wondered if watercooled computers were better at keeping the room cooler. It'd probably be true if they would pipe the water to a radiator in a closet or out a window.
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.
@TVarmy: My computer is right next to my window, but even when it wasnt I have never had problems with overheating. But then again my computer has 6 fans in it.
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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.
We have ceiling fans throughout the house, and supplement at night with small desktop fans next to our beds. The temp is always 80, unless we are not home and then it is 85. Get a programmable thermostat (cheap: $20-30) and program it to your schedule. If you're living in the south in a hot humid climate, you should be used to 100 degree temps by now, so 80 should feel pretty cool.
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.
@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.
@henrygates: 80 degrees is cool? Are you kidding me? I tried that the first year I moved to Houston and it nearly killed me. Just try doing some light housework or use your kitchen/stove/oven/dryer/etc. Forgetaboutit!
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.
@henrygates: Just to clarify, electric companies often have online-only, phone-only, or broker-only rates. The reps won't tell you about them (even if you ask) so you have to check these multiple sources.
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Take a cold shower, then lay naked in front of a fan.
Now that you all have that mental image for your morning...
@Shadowfire: Just find a shock site that makes you break out in a cold sweat. The last thing you'll be thinking about is the temperature...
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Nice thing about living in New England and having our first really hot day YESTERDAY is my electric bills stay in control. We haven't run the A/C more than 1 day so far, and we've got a window unit. I have been running the fan only though in the evening when sleeping to improve air circulation through the windows.
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.
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My grandpa (born in Mississippi in 1928) is still a fan of the block-of-ice-in-front-of-the-box-fan method. He friggin hates A/C and we have to make him use it - y'know, so he doesn't die of heat exhaustion.
@Vanilla5: That's actually becoming a real strategy. There's a new system that uses off-peak power to run a refrigeration system at night when the ambient temperature is cooler and the electricity is at off-peak, cheap rates to freeze a big block of ice in an insulated chamber. During the day, coolant is run through a heat exchanger in the chamber to melt the ice, and then that coolant is run through a radiator with a fan next to it. This cools down the building just like AC, but at a cheaper rate.
If your fridge only ran at night, your grandpa would have essentially the same system.
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@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.
How did that ellipses get in there?
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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...
@econobiker: \"Not that cool\" is a bit of an understatement. (I'm currently also staying in Nashville; I usually live in China) 10 minutes out the door and I'm sweating. I sweat even with the A/C at 81.
@econobiker: the fans may have a switch to have them turn the other way and pull more hot air up..may.
@You know what ole' Jack Burton always says:
If it brings air up, that air is going to push some air down. Actually that's the purpose of that switch - you use it in winter to pull air up which forces air down without feeling like you have a fan blowing on you. Your fan should push air down during the cooler months, not pull it up.
@Cant_stop_the_rock: Right, but if you're in a room with such high ceilings that the air in the fan's region is degrees hotter than \"person level,\" I bet the cooling effect is nullified by the genuinely greater heat of the air. Like if you had yer basic overheated attic and the fan was blowing air from it down at you in your bedroom. Kind of a Santa Ana wind effect.
@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.
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.
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.
@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.
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.
@tbax929: I thought that was the laziest thing in the world until (as so often happens) I actually got one. It's not just the fan, it's being able to turn out the overhead light from bed. Plus I'm short so reaching the fan pulls overhead is always a bit of a stretch anyway.
@HogwartsAlum: Its probably cheaper to replace the fans if the problem isn't with the electrical system itself. I live in Alabama and have ceiling fans in every room except the (never used anyway) dining room and the kitchen which has a fluorescent fixture.
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.
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Proliphix Ethernet thermostats ftw.
www.proliphix.com
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.
@Slack: Great suggestion! A great thermostat with proper controls can really save you a lot of money in the long run. Home automation FTW! Also pay an HVAC guy to move your return air duct from below the thermostat to above. Hot air pockets near the ceiling, and by doing this you will actually return hot air, not recently conditioned air.
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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.
I just got out of an upper apartment. The old landlady wanted us to live like her, without air conditioning. She balked at it the first summer and bent us over for using 2 window air conditioners( We didnt have seperate utility meters). We got out of there july 1st this year. It reached 89F up there! and that was with modified window fan i made that ran on 240 volts to move more air. I'd rather pay more then be miserable.
Never again will I rent from a place that doesnt have seperate utilities.
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I wonder at what point exhausting the hot air of the stove/oven/hot shower is beneficial over sucking out your air condition. I'm thinking 5-10 min after cooking/showering is over, you should stop.
@Saboth:
The heat from the shower is not what I'd worry about, it's the humidity. I know bathrooms use mold-resistant drywall and what have you, but excessive humidity is just not something I'd want in the house.
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.
@Saboth: I'd be curious too, since some of these lists include exhaust fans as a good thing. Though this one talks about running them an hour, which seems pretty excessive anyway.