yep, we definitely paid much more attention to the site planning when house hunting this time around. The front of the house faces north, and the roof extends over the back to where there's plenty of overhang on most of the south side of the house.

The windows are early 90s, and not terribly efficient, but not bad enough to justify replacement. I did spend about $1500 recently re-doing all of the weatherstripping and putting window film on all the south facing windows.

Im also considering either fully insulating the attic (making it part of the climate controlled part of the house) or at least installing radiant barrier shielding. still need to learn more...

5/17/2013 10:16:03 AM

A/C is for pussies, real men use fans ... unless its above 90F!

5/17/2013 10:18:37 AM

I'll be spending 3 weeks in south India this June.

I have no choice but to be a real man.

I feel like a horrible grandson for not really looking forward to this trip at all.

5/17/2013 10:23:44 AM

What about get one of those handheld thingies that will spritz water in yo face?

5/17/2013 10:28:29 AM

Still holding out. I think the hottest it's gotten in the house is 83. Well probably turn it on before our guest arrives today and turn it back off when he leaves.

5/17/2013 10:48:22 AM

Quote :

"Im also considering either fully insulating the attic (making it part of the climate controlled part of the house) or at least installing radiant barrier shielding. still need to learn more..."

definitely worth considering. I'm considering it for our house sometime. Either that or whenever our upstairs AC unit dies I need to go a half ton bigger :/

5/17/2013 10:59:38 AM

Quote :

"i know a lot of people think running their AC for an entire hot month is gonna make their power bill jump from $90 to $180, for example, which it won't"

My electricity bill in the cool months is around $35-40. Gas bill during that time is around $60-70.
My electricty bill in the hot months is around $90-100. Gas bill during that time is around $20-25.

Pretty obvious to me that AC costs more than gas heat.

Quote :

"On a side note, I actually wish AC had never been invented. Growing up, my parents rarely used the AC, and we never had a problem with it. Look how much energy we waste trying to cool cities in this nation, which is no more than a luxury item. It also makes people more prone to stay inside, instead of getting outside and doing something. Just my two cents."

Most people probably aren't aware of this, but more energy is consumed in the US keeping northern cities warm in the winter, than southern cities cool in the summer. Also, I feel like the southern US (especially the southwest) would never become highly populated without the advent of air conditioning. Las Vegas definitely wouldn't exist

5/17/2013 11:00:13 AM

I turned the ac on for our guest coming tonight. It will go back off when she leaves.

5/17/2013 11:34:56 AM

yall mothefuckers must like to be hot

5/17/2013 11:39:27 AM

^ I'd way rather be hot than cold

5/17/2013 11:40:30 AM

Why. You can always put on more clothes

I'm Krallum and I approved this message.

5/17/2013 11:40:52 AM

Quote :

"Most people probably aren't aware of this, but more energy is consumed in the US keeping northern cities warm in the winter, than southern cities cool in the summer. "

That's interesting. I would have thought that a similar size 4 or 5 story residential complex would be cheaper to warm than to cool. None-the-less, heat is essential and AC is non-essential, IMO.

Quote :

"better insulation, better site planning (orienting the house so that the fewest windows are south facing), maintaining tree cover (i.e., not clear cutting sites) could have a massive impact on HVAC usage, "

I am kicking myself on this issue daily! My wife and I built our house about five years ago on her dads land, and we had several options to choose from. We went out looking for a spot in February. We found an open field (mistake number 1), and she liked the view--facing the sun!! (mistake number 2). So, we built there, with no tree cover, facing the west. It gets super hot and we can barely do any yard work until the sun finally lays down over the field in the late afternoon. I have since planted close to 40 trees around the house, but I'll be waiting a long time to see that return benefit. A couple of years later, I visited that solar house at the Mckimmon center and learned all about the orientation, and I felt like such a dumbass. Like you said, orientation is key in a good, energy efficient house--just wish I knew this a few years earlier

5/17/2013 11:42:59 AM

Quote :

"Why. You can always put on more clothes"

Exactly. When people say they would rather be hot it drives me nuts. Also when you're cold you don't sweat through your clothes, soiling them.

Quote :

"That's interesting. I would have thought that a similar size 4 or 5 story residential complex would be cheaper to warm than to cool. None-the-less, heat is essential and AC is non-essential, IMO."

Yeah I always assumed that much as well. I'll see if I can find the study on that. And yeah, AC is non-essential compared to heat. Many many more people die every year from cold weather than hot weather, despite what the media likes to report on.

5/17/2013 11:49:42 AM

Meh, it's just a preference. I get cold much more easily than I get hot. It's just how my body works.

5/17/2013 11:50:56 AM

Trees may provide shade for your home, but they also drop shit all over your roof. (acorns, limbs, leaves that can clump and trap in water) all of this shit is not good for the roof and can wear it out faster. Lots of shit to clog your gutters and make them overflow pouring water beside the foundation.

They get the house dirty, attract bugs, I could go on and on.

The $20 a month you might save in cooling cost is probably going to get eaten up quickly in wear and tear on your house.

5/17/2013 11:52:04 AM

Yeah if its 75 and sunny out I'll start sweating if I'm doing any sort of activity. crank that up to the 90s and i'm swimming in my own sweat

5/17/2013 11:52:17 AM

The whirlybirds on my roof have been spinning like crazy this week

5/17/2013 11:53:09 AM

Quote :

"Yeah if its 75 and sunny out I'll start sweating if I'm doing any sort of activity. crank that up to the 90s and i'm swimming in my own sweat"

I'm the opposite. If it drops below 60 I start to shiver. I always take a jacket to work. I'm fine up to 85 or so before I break a sweat. I just mowed the lawn for like 45 minutes, and I only started to sweat near the end (it's 83 right now). I try to keep the house at 68 in the winter and 76 in the summer.

5/17/2013 11:58:49 AM

Looking at the two extremes around here...I'd rather have 20 degree weather vs. 100 degree weather. I can put on more clothes, but you can barely breath outside at 100 degrees.

5/17/2013 12:01:30 PM

^agreed.

^^63 inside house in winter, 73 in summer.

5/17/2013 12:04:46 PM

i only run the gas heat i am home. 68 winter. 76 summer when home or 82 away

5/17/2013 12:34:33 PM

a/c isn't cooling the house. It's going to be a long weekend for me if this keeps up.

5/17/2013 7:54:40 PM

Quote :

"My electricity bill in the cool months is around $35-40. Gas bill during that time is around $60-70. My electricty bill in the hot months is around $90-100. Gas bill during that time is around $20-25."

i have electric heat

but if your power + gas bills are ~$100 in cool months and $120 in hot months, thats not that much of a difference

besides, most people i'm talking about who are worried about even turning on the AC to penny pinch on their power bills are probably not the type of people who have bought a bunch of their own after market appliances

5/17/2013 9:05:31 PM

The electric bill for me is more like $50 for the cool months, and $200 for the hot months. Then again, I live in FL

5/17/2013 9:53:05 PM