Keeping my house cool (Santa Clara: luxury, utilities, costs)

[Jordo487]

Could I get some input/suggestions on keeping my house cool without running my A/C 24/7? I mean most evenings windows could be left open with fans as it does cool down pretty well certain nights. Anyone find a good way to keep air circulated, etc. in there house so they don't have to have the A/C all day, every day?

[tylerhaynes3]

"Most evenings windows could be left open..." Not here in town, unless you don't mind a "cool" 80-90 degree breeze blowing in, although there's almost never a late night breeze unless it's storming. I dunno yo, unfortunetly the a/c in these parts have to run pretty non-stop from mid May through September, really no getting around it.

[irman]

Originally Posted by Jordo487

a good way to keep air circulated, etc. in there house so they don't have to have the A/C all day, every day?

OK, circulate air ...
Circulating with a fan really does not do anything for keeping a house cool.
It *feels* cool on your face or body when the air of fan *hits* you.
Getting cool air *in* is the trick, but with the temps high outside, no way !

About the only thing you could do, is install a very good air circulating system in your attic.
Getting the extremely hot air OUT of the attic is the key !
That air easily reaches the 3 digit values !

Since *swamp* coolers work rather well in Utah (usually dry),
I have a really large unit that is mounted on the roof, *under* a canopy !
All the windows are *cracked* just slightly open, so the air can get out (circulate !)
Then the door to the attached garage is also cracked open about an inch.
Cool air now goes from the house, into the garage, and then thru the attic opening in the garage thru the attic *out* !

I have an advantage which is that we have 10 inch thick outside brick walls and triple glass windows.
A 55 year old home !
Most modern built homes do not have that *luxury* ...

[GoOutsideAndPlay]

Jordo,

Are you trying to save money by not running the A/C 24-7 or just trying to get fresh air in the house at night?

Not sure of your situation, but if you're trying to save money and it's just you or you and a significant other, an alternative might be to get a small, energy efficient window or portable A/C unit. At bedtime, turn the A/C off in the house, and just use the unit in the bedroom with your door closed. Should cost less to cool one room instead of the whole house. A popular consumer reporting agency routinely rates room A/C units for efficiency and effectiveness (which have improved over the years). If you have kids or guests in other rooms, this option won't work. The only other option (not already mentioned above) to save money would be to keep the A/C on, but set it to a higher temp and use ceiling fans.

If you have an unbalanced a/c system, where some rooms are hotter/cooler than others and you run the A/C longer for those hotter rooms, try this trick. On your thermostat, switch the fan from "auto" to "on". This keeps the blower on constantly to circulate the air already in the home without the big energy expense of the a/c unit running. Helps to even out the temp more across rooms. Or, have an HVAC company come out and balance the system. This may allow you to bump the temp up several degrees and running the blower fan is much cheaper than the A/C unit.

If you're trying to just get a nice breeze and fresh air, try opening the front and back doors to your home once the outside air temp has cooled to an acceptable range (that doesn't happen till later in the evening, if at all this time of year). In our house, it creates a wind tunnel effect - you just have to watch for bugs/lizards getting in (or put up a screen door).

What we've found is that A/C is pretty much needed 24/7 during the summer (hard to get around it). But, in the fall/winter/spring, the a/c and heat don't run much at all. In the end, our heating/cooling costs over the year are very reasonable, especially compared to where we moved from.

[karenSG]

"In the end, our heating/cooling costs over the year are very reasonable, especially compared to where we moved from." @ GoOutside

I don't get why your heat doesn't cost much! My heat costs as much or more as the AC.
Guess I just need to be warmer more than cooler, lol.

Good suggestion about the HVAC company. I had one re-do some duct sizes in the attic last year and it helped a lot. Since then I'm more comfortable in all the rooms and at night.

I also adjust the thermostat manually and often, according to my body.
In the early morning I use screen doors with a cross draft and ceiling fans to freshen the house.
I leave the thermostat at 88 summer/65 winter at night to keep it off.

Bugs and lizards (and birds!) are happier outside so I help them stay out with the screen door. That is definitely an issue! Not so lucky with my screenless windows--can't open them! :-/

SG Utilities and Questar are my servers. Santa Clara people seem to pay more--don't know why or if that's actually true since I'm only comparing myself to my daughter and her neighbors there.

The utility bills here are lower than where I came from. I love that!

[DarkCanyonVignette]

Originally Posted by Jordo487

Could I get some input/suggestions on keeping my house cool without running my A/C 24/7? I mean most evenings windows could be left open with fans as it does cool down pretty well certain nights. Anyone find a good way to keep air circulated, etc. in there house so they don't have to have the A/C all day, every day?

Just run ac 23/7 you will see a noticeable decrease in your power bill over the course of a month or three