[justthe2ofus]

Originally Posted by PinkString

Look for the ones advertised as more natural light. I was told they vary. Also asking someone at one of the home stores will probably help too. They have them now where it doesn't take forever to light up the room, it's almost instant. Much better.

i bought these new natural light ones and what a huge difference in the quality of light. a buck or two over the cheapest flourescent. i bought them at lowes.

[PinkString]

Hey Grandpa, not everyone wants to be gone all day, plus my cats can't die in the heat. I think my way of pushing it to 85, which is still tolerable for cats on the ground floor is enough.
If we were to all go hang out in a casino until the sun went down, we would all be much poorer. I wouldn't mind it so much if they were smoke free, but they are not.

[unf0rgiven6262]

Originally Posted by Y'all smile now! Grandpa?

I never understood those who had huge utility bills in the summer in Las Vegas'

When I lived there, I never had a large bill(gambling excluded). My wife would ask co-workers at Westward Ho how their bills were and was always amazed at how high they were-ours were so low.

I should charge for this info but here it is right here, right now. No charge.

FIRST, get and keep a day job! Make sure that the hottest part of the day finds you not at home blasting the air but at work enjoying theirs!

Second, make sure your home is shaded properly. Purchase or rent in a heavily shaded area-this will help when you leave works a/c.

Thirdly, is it still kinda hot when work is over? Then don't go home yet! Pick a Casino, kill some time. The sun will go down soon enough.

Fourth--get thee home. The sun is gone, i'ts getting cooler(101 ain't 105, is it?). Ceiling fan? Turn it on! Sit under it, and don't move.

Time to watch tv? Get an oscillating fan, but set it so it stays on you only! Now, if your better (or other) half starts complaining than go ahead, set it to oscillating.

Finally, time for bed? Remember your ceiling fan? Get one for the bedroom, and turn it on. Lay there, keep absolutely still. That is the key.

There you have it-much lower bills!!

This reminds me of all those "back in my day" sayings older people tend to have. Back in my day AC was spitting on each other and waving a book back and forth!

[BUGBULLY]

Originally Posted by 007 license to sell

we have upped our thermostate to 83 and our utility bill is still over $300.00 in May. We expect our June bill to be over $500.00 for the month. We have a 2300 sq/ft home two story not really that big built in 2005. We have a pool which jacks up the electricity .

Wow, that seems really high!

We have a 2700 square foot home, two story with a pool. Our highest last year was $330.00. Last months bill was $235.00. With the air on upstairs most of the day. We also have someone home pretty much all day long. We run our fans 24/7, even if people say that it takes up a lot of energy, to us they feel like they keep us cooler. Plus we do have solar screens.

Last summer, I would keep the air off during the day, because it was just my daughter and I at home. But it seemed like when we wanted to cool down the home it would take forever and the a/c units were running a lot longer then they do now. We usually keep the house at 78 to 80 degrees.

[MadManofBethesda]

Originally Posted by BUGBULLY

. We run our fans 24/7, even if people say that it takes up a lot of energy, to us they feel like they keep us cooler. .

It's not that it takes up a lot of energy - it's that it's a complete waste of energy if you're not in the room(s).

Fans do not change the temperature of the air even by one degree. You're right that they feel like they keep you cooler - when you're in the room.

It's sort of analogous to wind chill. Wind doesn't actually make air colder, it just feels colder on skin. For example, in winter if the air temperature is 38, but the wind chill factor makes it 28, you feel colder if you're out in the wind, but a water pipe is not going to freeze. Similarly, a fan makes the temperature in a room feel colder to you, but only if you're in the room.

[crazy_bd]

MMoB is right.
Human skin temperature is about 90F. Fans cool you by blowing air that's cooler than 90 deg across your body + it speeds up the evaporation cooling effect of your body sweat. By the same token, if you stand in front of a fan in temps above 100F, you're not getting cooled by the airflow - just the sweating.

[yellowsnow]

Just got mine. $301.00....... 1500sf with pool, ac set on 80. We are miserable and sweltering. OOOOOHHHH for one good nights sleep at about 60... Guess that will happen in November!

[kittyranger]

actually having a fan blow o nlets say your tv or pc will keep it cooler. fans remove heat by blowing air on it. hot or cold are still removes heat. for example stand in front of fan and you will be drier because the heat gets moved off. why do you thin kvideo cards have fans on it. video cards get really hot and having fan helps get rid of the heat which in turn make it cooler. i know guys who get there pcs down 20 degrees lower because of multiple fans blowing.this is real temp. not just illusions. i would say leave fans on if you have cats for example.most cats hat a/c. my cat stays in 90 degree room instead of a/c cooled room because he hates being cool. cats maybe are different then dogs being that they are desert creatures.

[PinkString]

Originally Posted by yellowsnow

Just got mine. $301.00....... 1500sf with pool, ac set on 80. We are miserable and sweltering. OOOOOHHHH for one good nights sleep at about 60... Guess that will happen in November!

Oh yeah, 60! i love that. I can't wait until it's cool enough to have a window open upstairs with the fan. Much easier to sleep. But consider yourself lucky...it could be 85 inside and try to sleep with that! We only get by doing that because we have the ceiling fan on high, and the big floor fan on at the same time. The oscillating floor fan made by Holmes is the best fan ever.

[mojavedxer]

June bill $138 1400 square foot split level condo. Thermosotat set at 80 and use box fans for the cooling effect while watching TV, sleeping or working on the computer.