Things Your Parents Said

Quote: Evenbob

I have window units in the rooms
that have air. Mine shut off at about
67, lower than that is too cold.

When I lived in az the air went out. I got a window unit out of storage. Roommate’s gf had no idea what it was as. Kids.

Also adding more or better attic insulation helps.

There's a house down around the other street from me. He added an awning outside his garage and parks his car under it out of the sun but never opens the garage. Might be considered an eyesore by some.

Quote: petroglyph

Just got our July bill [online] it is 309.97. We had at least two weeks that were above 112* each day, the other days, were just hot.

I put a window unit in my garage, It just doesn't have the capacity to do anything when the temp outside is over 105. My wife doesn't care to park in there, so it's just empty space but occasionally if I driver her vehicle, when I come home I back it into the garage. That brings 2900 lbs of metal into the air space, no way to cool anything down with that giant heat sink in there. Might as well leave it out in the sun, and let the UV do it's work on the rubber.

"Havasu isn't hell, but you can see it from here"

My AC unit inside the house is actually in my garage. My garage has a high ceiling and that's where my AC unit is, near the ceiling. It doesn't blow air in there so the garage is of course hotter then inside the house but having the AC in there cools the garage somewhat. I love the high ceiling in my garage. I also keep my RV pop up camper in there. I can actually raise the roof of my popup to full height in my garage. I always park the car in the garage, the brutal FL sun is hard on cars

Quote: AZDuffman

When I lived in az the air went out. I got a window unit out of storage. Roommate’s gf had no idea what it was as. Kids.

My central air went out about 15
years ago and the cost to replace
it was so obscene, I went to
window units. One costs about
$150 and will last for 10 years.
My office and bedroom unit's were
$99 and gets it cold enough to
hang meat. Screw central air, it's
a ripoff and an energy hog.

Quote: Evenbob

My central air went out about 15
years ago and the cost to replace
it was so obscene, I went to
window units. One costs about
$150 and will last for 10 years.
My office and bedroom unit's were
$99 and gets it cold enough to
hang meat. Screw central air, it's
a ripoff and an energy hog.

One of the things that really screws a lot of people that live here is, many or most homes are built on concrete slabs. When the house is finished they just put flooring atop the cement, carpet, pergo etc. When the earth outside heats up in the spring, eventually that heat makes it's way to the cement, which is the entire floor of most houses. In a couple months, the cement floor will be around 80*, for weeks, even after the outside temps lower, the cement floor and the dirt underneath it is in the 80's. The ac unit only cools the walls and objects in the house, and if the air stops blowing [down] you can feel the rise of the heat. There is no escaping it.

A portable unit might cool off my face if blowing directly on it, but the earth, even around our pool is in the ninety's. My small in ground pool is 91* all on it's own. It's not even refreshing at that temp.

In the winter sometimes my heat [set at 78] only trips on about ten times. Right now our NG bill is 15 dollars per month, that is mostly the cook stove and meter charge. Starting in late June, we could disconnect our hot water heater and still have really hot showers as the water lines are only about a foot deep. The only cool water at the shower is that which runs through the cement floor that gets cooled by the ac constantly running. So, take quick showers unless you like them really hot.

Quote: petroglyph

One of the things that really screws a lot of people that live here is, many or most homes are built on concrete slabs. When the house is finished they just put flooring atop the cement, carpet, pergo etc. When the earth outside heats up in the spring, eventually that heat makes it's way to the cement, which is the entire floor of most houses. In a couple months, the cement floor will be around 80*, for weeks, even after the outside temps lower, the cement floor and the dirt underneath it is in the 80's. The ac unit only cools the walls and objects in the house, and if the air stops blowing [down] you can feel the rise of the heat. There is no escaping it.

A portable unit might cool off my face if blowing directly on it, but the earth, even around our pool is in the ninety's. My small in ground pool is 91* all on it's own. It's not even refreshing at that temp.

In the winter sometimes my heat [set at 78] only trips on about ten times. Right now our NG bill is 15 dollars per month, that is mostly the cook stove and meter charge. Starting in late June, we could disconnect our hot water heater and still have really hot showers as the water lines are only about a foot deep. The only cool water at the shower is that which runs through the cement floor that gets cooled by the ac constantly running. So, take quick showers unless you like them really hot.

My townhouse is also on a concrete slab but I doubt it gets hot like yours. We have to much water in the ground in Florida. That's why nobody has a basement.
I notice my cold water a bit warm but that's only in the middle of the day. I like a hot shower in the morning and by then the cold water is cool. Also this is the tropics so we get a daily rainstorm in the summer that cools off the area everyday for an hour.

Quote: Evenbob

Screw central air, it's a ripoff and an energy hog.

That is probably true of central heat as well (particularly electric), but people are spoiled. You could wrap the pipes with tape with an electric heat, and just heat the rooms you are in.

Quote: Evenbob

My central air went out about 15
years ago and the cost to replace
it was so obscene, I went to
window units. One costs about
$150 and will last for 10 years.
My office and bedroom unit's were
$99 and gets it cold enough to
hang meat. Screw central air, it's
a ripoff and an energy hog.

Quote: petroglyph

One of the things that really screws a lot of people that live here is, many or most homes are built on concrete slabs. When the house is finished they just put flooring atop the cement, carpet, pergo etc. When the earth outside heats up in the spring, eventually that heat makes it's way to the cement, which is the entire floor of most houses. In a couple months, the cement floor will be around 80*, for weeks, even after the outside temps lower, the cement floor and the dirt underneath it is in the 80's. The ac unit only cools the walls and objects in the house, and if the air stops blowing [down] you can feel the rise of the heat. There is no escaping it.

I kind of prefer just using the window units. The piece on the slab floor says it all. The thing on a window unit is it gets the room COLD. Central gets is "cool." I will put up with the heat in the day to be in the cold at night. I try to explain to people all the time about the things in the room holding heat. Most don't get it at least at first. This year I have had the window unit going almost non-stop. Since I cannot open the windows with it in, I need the fresh air. Just turn it off in the mornings sometimes when just the fan is on.

What temp is my thermostat set at? Depends upon who is paying the bills. When I'm a guest in someone's home I've no qualms about changing their thermostat but that don't mean I'll change it when I'm paying the bill.

As to this cement slab stuff you can read about heat pumps and using some mild water injection to insulate the slab from all that heat.

Condo unit? The trick is to tap either your neighbor's cool or the common area's cool.

Quote: AZDuffman

." I will put up with the heat in the day to be in the cold at night.

Sleep science has determined that we
sleep the soundest when the room
temp is 55. (find a woman that will
put up with that)

I keep my bedroom at 60 in the summer
and 62 in the winter. I have a friend
that's 70 in the summer and 75 in the
winter. And they both where pajamas
to bed. The mind boggles.