Warm Indoors in Summer (apartment, houses, living in)

[Solere]

I currently live in an East-West facing single family house with hardly any tall trees in the backyard, which is in the west part of the house. In the afternoon, the sun is so bright and warm that it penetrates the through the 90% sunblock screen in front of the large sliding glass door and through the vertical blinds which are shut, into the kitchen and tv area and heats it up. I shut the blinds on the south side of the house which is right up against my neighbor's wall otherwise the house will heat up. I even have to shut the blinds in the bedroom window which faces East and is protected by a 90% sunblock screen in front of it. The sun penetrates through the screen and hurts my eyes and causes a lot of reflection in the room so I have to shut the blinds in order to be able to work on the computer. I basically live in the shade inside of my house in the summer due to the sun. UV rays, heat, etc.

Despite living indoors in the shade, I am still warm and have to drink 12 oz of water almost every 20 minutes. I have the air conditioning thermostat set at 80 degrees and have the ceiling fans on at medium speed 24hrs a day. Sometimes, I'll misinterpret the need to drink water for eating food and I'll have ice cream. My body seems to constantly want to drink water, suck on ice and the foods I crave are ice cream, or other frozen treats. Does anyone else experience this? When I go to San Diego on vacation, and stay in a non air conditioned apartment that's 72 degrees that's also east-west facing with the windows open, I never have the desire to snack or drink water. Perhaps the high humidity greatly reduces the need to drink water, but then what about Houston or Atlanta in the summer? When I have worked in air conditioned offices in the summer that were very cold (not sure of the temperature but some coworkers wore sweaters in the summer), I only had the urge to use the drinking fountain once every couple of hours.

I also notice that during the short swing seasons here when the a/c is off, the inside of the house is significantly warmer than the outside even in the afternoon, almost to where it's more pleasant to remain outside or go to the garage. Is this normal?

I'm wondering if heat tolerance and the need to drink water so often would be better in a north/south facing house vs an east/west one and if a house had a humidifier?

Other than lowering the thermostat, what would you all do or where would you locate a house to minimize the impact of the heat and not live in the dark all summer?

[observer53]

Most houses have patios, with a roof, where a sliding glass door is. If the sun is hitting that door, then you must not have a patio roof here to shade that door. Get one. The back of my house faces south, and I get NO actual sun coming through the sliding door or any window on that side. You are also saying the sun is so bright in an east facing room with a sun screen on the window that it hurts your eyes??? I have a hard time understanding that one, too, except for a short period of time when the sun is coming up in the morning.

Don't run ceiling fans unless you are actually IN the room where the fan is, or moving from room to room all the time. Wastes money. At night, have it on only in the room where you are sleeping. The other fans are not doing you any good then.

Get the insulation in your house checked. As far as that extreme need for water, I'd suggest a checkup with a doctor. Twelve ounces EVERY TWENTY MINUTES? In a sixteen hour day, that's four and a half gallons. That's, well, extreme.

I keep my thermostat at or above 80 all the time, too, and don't have any of the problems you are having.

I see from other threads that you are looking to move to a different part of the Valley. That might solve a lot of this, if you can find a house with better protection from the sun and the heat due to orientation, plants/trees, neighboring homes, etc.

[Kimballette]

Originally Posted by Happs

I currently live in an East-West facing single family house with hardly any tall trees in the backyard, which is in the west part of the house. In the afternoon, the sun is so bright and warm that it penetrates the through the 90% sunblock screen in front of the large sliding glass door and through the vertical blinds which are shut, into the kitchen and tv area and heats it up. I shut the blinds on the south side of the house which is right up against my neighbor's wall otherwise the house will heat up. I even have to shut the blinds in the bedroom window which faces East and is protected by a 90% sunblock screen in front of it. The sun penetrates through the screen and hurts my eyes and causes a lot of reflection in the room so I have to shut the blinds in order to be able to work on the computer. I basically live in the shade inside of my house in the summer due to the sun. UV rays, heat, etc.

Despite living indoors in the shade, I am still warm and have to drink 12 oz of water almost every 20 minutes. I have the air conditioning thermostat set at 80 degrees and have the ceiling fans on at medium speed 24hrs a day. Sometimes, I'll misinterpret the need to drink water for eating food and I'll have ice cream. My body seems to constantly want to drink water, suck on ice and the foods I crave are ice cream, or other frozen treats. Does anyone else experience this? When I go to San Diego on vacation, and stay in a non air conditioned apartment that's 72 degrees that's also east-west facing with the windows open, I never have the desire to snack or drink water. Perhaps the high humidity greatly reduces the need to drink water, but then what about Houston or Atlanta in the summer? When I have worked in air conditioned offices in the summer that were very cold (not sure of the temperature but some coworkers wore sweaters in the summer), I only had the urge to use the drinking fountain once every couple of hours.

I also notice that during the short swing seasons here when the a/c is off, the inside of the house is significantly warmer than the outside even in the afternoon, almost to where it's more pleasant to remain outside or go to the garage. Is this normal?

I'm wondering if heat tolerance and the need to drink water so often would be better in a north/south facing house vs an east/west one and if a house had a humidifier?

Other than lowering the thermostat, what would you all do or where would you locate a house to minimize the impact of the heat and not live in the dark all summer?

My goodness, it sounds like a combination of a poorly insulated house, and extreme sensitivity to all stimuli on your part. I agree with the previous poster's advice regarding insulation and energy tips. Your light sensitivity and extreme thirst sound like something you may want to have checked out by a physician. It does not sound normal at all. Best wishes to you.