Here comes the heat!!! (Phoenix, Mesa: live, cost, moving to)

[HX_Guy]

Originally Posted by SloCoChef

My life has turned into one big hotflash -- what do single retirees do for these four months of extreme heat? I'm younger to be retired - but without working - sitting in a hot house with fans alternating with A/C is getting really old - fast. I've gone to malls, go for evening walks ~ don't know how to golf... Nuttin' much to do is fine in normal weather - but boxed up inside (typical of winter months where you have the pleasant distraction of Holidays back East) it's making me crazier than I already am.............Oh well......lol...live and learn.

Why are you sitting ina hot house? Does the AC not work?

[las vegas drunk]

Originally Posted by MountainRush

Its only 95 degrees in Denver...I can't imagine what its like in Phoenix now...

112

[sun queen]

Gosh, I complain about the heat daily on my home forum... When I was young it didn't bother me as much now I can hardly stand it. My problem is I don't know if can stand snow or I would relocate in a heart beat. Sometimes it is better the devil u know

[BillyBaroo]

In the spring, we talk about it getting hot when the temperatures hit 100. Then in the summer, it's 110 to 115 that we call hot. The funny thing is in the summer when the temps drop down to 100 and we talk about it cooling off.

I work outside every day from 5:00 to 1:00. I get adjusted to the heat as it warms up during the summer. When I get used to the extreme heat, it feels pleasant when the temperature drops into the 95 to 105 range. So, for that reason, I like having a period of 110 and higher. It eventually makes it so temps hovering around 100 are more tolerable.

The most important thing for me is to stay outside. I have the most trouble if I have to go in and out of the air-conditioning. The best way for me to cool off is by simply sitting down in the shade.

One thing I never get used to is being in the direct sunlight during the afternoon without any shade. I like going swimming or playing golf using a cart with a roof on it, but most days, I go home from work and sleep for two or three hours. That way I don't have to go to bed early and I can spend more time with my family.

I moved from Illinois to Arizona in 1985. When I go back to Illinois for a visit, the humidity makes me miserable. After 25 years here, I don't think I could ever go back to living in that type of environment. I love it here. I like the dry heat and it actually makes me feel good. I drink a couple gallons of water every day and as long as I do that, I'm fine.

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by HX_Guy

Speaking of AC, is it normal for the unit to make a buzzing noise while it's running? It annoys the crap out of me bit it seems normal as it seems everyone's seems to make the same buzzing noise while it's running.

I know what you are talking about. Mine does the same thing. I have three compressors and they all do it. So I'd assume it must be "normal".

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

I saw the suggestion of buckets of water on here a year or so ago and was rather skeptical that it could add significant moisture to the air. So I did some calculations and to my surprise found that if you use several, you can, theoretically increase humidity in a closed space measurably. Now the question remains if that is truly necessary (first time I have heard that carpets break down. I don't know of any polymer that is unstable at 100 degrees and few of them absorb water. But if it makes you sleep better at night, then by all means increase your humidity.

The humidity issue I have the most grief with is wooden chairs like in dining set. The spindles and such shrink to the point that the chair is all loose. In a couple cases they have simply collapsed in use. The other thing is cabinet doors that get a slight warp to them - mainly very large ones on the pantry. BTW, these things have happened in an occupied home, so it might be worse in summer in an empty one.

I still would advise leaving the ac off. Maybe do buckets. The other thing is some means (oil) of keeping water in the toilet traps. Aside from bugs, if the water goes out sewer gases can come in.

Here is a couple of links that recommend leaving out buckets of water.

"..leaving several buckets of water throughout the home will add moisture to home's air during Arizona's brutally hot and dry summer."

Read more: Snowbird Tips for Summering an Arizona Winter Home | eHow.com Snowbird Tips for Summering an Arizona Winter Home | eHow.com

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"To help add moisture for the furniture place several 5 gallon buckets of water around the house."

Read more: Attention Snowbirds! Tips To Prepare Your Home For An Extended Summer Absence.

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I googled what happens to fabric breakdown and there isn't much information on the web. But archival libraries have done a lot of research. One factoid is that heat accelerates deterioration. Read more: Northeast Document Conservation Center —*Temperature, Relative Humidity, Light, and Air Quality

"the rate of most chemical reactions, including deterioration, is approximately doubled with each increase in temperature of 18°F (10°C)........Extremely low relative humidity, which can occur in winter in centrally heated buildings, may lead to desiccation and embrittlement of some materials. "
__________________________________________________ ____________

So it seems to reason that low humidity and higher temperatures can result in accelerated material degradation of some fabrics / materials. I have heard 2nd hand that returning snowbirds have observed ruined elastic waistbands and bras. I was wondering if this happened to anyone who left without adding humidity or turning on their air??

[Stokes172]

Originally Posted by observer53

A good ceiling fan's motor doesn't get that hot. I don't believe for a minute that running a ceiling fan in a room all the time raises the room temperature due to the fan motor.

As I said before, it makes no sense to run them in a room that is never used. Yes, they don't cost much to run, but they may also wear out faster. (That said, I've had the same ceiling fans for 25 years, and one of them does run A LOT).

Actually ceiling fans are designed for circulation. Ever notice they are multi directional? The directions corespond with the seasons. In cold climates ceiling fans can be used to move the heat off the ceiling and down to the floor in the winter. (run it so it pulls the air upwards and pushes it down the walls you shouldn't feel a draft) . This works well in forced air heating or radiator systems where you have the heat coming from the floor.
In the summer you run it so it pushes the air down towards you.

In a hot climate like Arizona 95% of the time you would want the air forced down on you... If you have ceiling mounted heat units it would be best to reverse the flow in the winter to circulate the heat down the walls to the floor.

As for energy use??..a decent quality fan will cost you a penny a day to operate.

[dacubz]

I am vacationing in Cave Creek starting July 2nd. Yes, we planned it that way. Being from Chicago, we like the heat, and did the same thing last July.

[Ponderosa]

Topped 116 in my little corner of paradise today.

[AZDesertBrat]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

Topped 116 in my little corner of paradise today.

Whew! Sure glad I don't live in your "little corner of paradise"!!! It was about 107 up here in Cottonwood today. Starting tomorrow it's supposed to be around 103 and then between 101-104 through July 3rd...with partly cloudy every day. The humidity is still pretty much nil but it's coming and I'm not looking forward to it. On the bright side I bought a new car today and the AC works perfect! Yay. The AC in my old car hasn't worked for a couple of years.