[PinkString]

I'm closing off all my downstairs vents this summer since it's mainly unbearably hot upstairs, that's the only place that really needs cooling. I think we can survive with just the ceiling and floor fans downstairs. More conserving coming for poor old nvenergy thieves.

[Trash Can]

Originally Posted by PinkString

I'm closing off all my downstairs vents this summer since it's mainly unbearably hot upstairs, that's the only place that really needs cooling.

I'd think twice about closing off all of your vents downstairs. Read below.

Closing Off Vents and Rooms to Save Energy

[PinkString]

Originally Posted by Trash Can

I'd think twice about closing off all of your vents downstairs. Read below.

Closing Off Vents and Rooms to Save Energy

Wonderful. It's either close off the vents or not run it this year. No way to survive in the heat without high electric bills. And the first bill to come in will result in us not being able to pay for it.
Well, let's see, I could always quit eating. But that's only a savings of $25 a week. The measly $100 a month should be able to pay for a quarter of the bill. So why bother?

[olecapt]

Originally Posted by PinkString

Wonderful. It's either close off the vents or not run it this year. No way to survive in the heat without high electric bills. And the first bill to come in will result in us not being able to pay for it.
Well, let's see, I could always quit eating. But that's only a savings of $25 a week. The measly $100 a month should be able to pay for a quarter of the bill. So why bother?

Get an A/C guy to add a couple of big vents upstairs. Set them up with a cutoff that can be easily accessed. Won't cost more than $200. Than you can cut off the bottom and open the top and get what you want.

[Croce]

Too bad those mini-split systems by fujitsu and others are so expensive in the states. Throughout a lot of the world these two stage a/c units are the standard way to heat and cool homes. What's nice is the lack of ductwork and ease of placement. Unfortunately, they are pretty rare in the states - but if they catch on, the price should fall to a reasonable level.

[Tires]

I'm definitely never going to buy or even rent a 2+ level house or townhouse with a single A/C unit. Sounds like is a very inefficient way to cool the space.
Looks to me like more "false economy" cost cutting at the DR Horton townhomes similar to the lower than average HOA fees that looks like a great deal until you realize there is no exterior painting and roofing coverage included in HOA fees.

[vegasneon]

Originally Posted by Croce

Too bad those mini-split systems by fujitsu and others are so expensive in the states. Throughout a lot of the world these two stage a/c units are the standard way to heat and cool homes. What's nice is the lack of ductwork and ease of placement. Unfortunately, they are pretty rare in the states - but if they catch on, the price should fall to a reasonable level.

I just got on this thread today- yep read the whole thing...anyway.

Surprised to see you say these are rare, this is what was advised to us by the A/C guy last year. He guesstimated a cost of $4,000 for what we would need but we never did get anyone to give us a real estimate. Our problem- we live in a 40 year old 2350 sq ft home. The ductwork starts at one side of the house and there just isnt enough cold air left by the time it gets to the last two- large rooms. We have a 5 ton A/C which is only a few years old. The co that installed it went out of business. He believes that we would actually pay less in power using 2 units. It makes sense because if the center of the house is comfortable-ish (we keep it hot in summer) the one side is freezing and the other side is hot. The point is probably moot because I cant afford it unless I know it will cut down my huge electric summer bills enough to make the payments on the unit.

Any thoughts by any of you here that seem to be knowledgable?

I have wondered why people dont get solar to just run their A/C units? How would I figure out how much solar I need, wouldnt it be cheaper to just get solar to run that one appliance and not have battery storage and hook-up to the power grid. Cant that be done? For me the one big problem is the A/C adding to our power. We use a lot of power- presumably because our house is old and has old single pane windows and possibly crap insulation. Our bill is never less than $100 and we open our windows and live without A/C or heat until it becomes unbearable. We keep our A/C set at 96 in the summer when we are not at home and 88 when we are with some supplimental fans here and there shut off when not in use. There are only 2 of us but my husband is disabled and home all the time.

Ok sorry so long but....the reason I was interested in this thread is we voluntarily had a smart meter- NV energy said if it didnt save you money the first year they would give you back the over- which they did. I paid less for power from Oct to June, June to Oct we set an alarm that went off to tell us it was 15 min to 1pm and we unplugged everything in the house possible at that time everyday (power was more expensive from 1pm to 7pm). We did everything humanly possible to keep 1pm to 7pm usage down and we were miserable!! No internet, no TV, low lighting, it was HOT. For all our troubles our bill still went up. Like I say- they rebated it back and I got out of the program ASAP (you had to keep it a year). So I am really afraid of what happens when they make us all pay by time of day in the future!

Any comments and any suggstions greatly appreciated

Smiles,
Rebecca

[Tires]

Originally Posted by H4CK3R

Couldn't edit... but here..

I'm out 5k... and I installed it myself. Even if you hired an electrician, the cost wouldn't be more then 5k. Thus your only out 10k max...

You can recoup that in 5 years. A little more depending on your energy consumption. Also think of the added value that you just placed on your home if and when it ever goes to market. $16.00 a month electrical bill is a great selling point.

H43CK3R

Maybe more home builders should start making solar roofs standard. The ones integrated into roofs when the houses are built look much nicer than the ones tacked on later. http://suttonroofingco.com/yahoo_sit...160427_std.jpg
It most likely costs much less to install it during initial construction than to add it later. Plus, the cost would be financed into the mortgage and there would still be rebates and tax credits so the added cost to the homeowner would not be much.
It would help the home differentiate their new homes more from existing homes beyond just being never lived in when they try to market them.

[Bideshi]

Maybe a window unit for the most used upstairs rooms and just turn the central off entirely? In Nevada, a desert evaporative cooler should work great, but I don't know what the increased water bill would do to the budget. We're all going to have to get smarter on these things.

[Danknee]

Originally Posted by Robustus

Just wondering how the TED is working out now that you've been running it for a month or so.

Three full months of TED5000 monitoring now and it has been accurate within 2 kilowatt hours each bill... Month one= exact. Month two=over one. Month two= over two. It obviously doesn't know the exact time of day the meter is going to be read, so I'd say that it is consistently accurate. Just waiting for the day they install smart meters in my 'hood, then I can test the new meter's accuracy.